My Support for the Muslim Brotherhood

I just want to follow a chain of thoughts through to a conclusion:

1. I voted for the current government (albeit by accident, but that's another story...).

2. I disapprove of the current government's handling of the country.

3. I believe that another government might be able to better run the country.

4. I would like to see the current government removed from office at the earliest possible opportunity.

So far, so good. If opinion polling is to believed (let's not get too carried away with that notion though...) this is what many people in this country think. *HOWEVER*, that doesn't mean that the next step should be:

5. The current government should be removed from power by the army.

I'm quite happy to wait till 2015 to try and get rid of the coalition. I'm also prepared to accept the result of David Cameron still being Prime Minister after 2015, which is fairly likely in my view. To quote John Major:

"There are some times in politics when the ball just rolls in the opposite direction, and there isn't a great deal you can do about it."

For all their enthusiasm for democracy, sections of the Egyptian people, including the army, seem to have missed this key point. Yes, I can see they were frustrated with Mohammed Morsi, who many of them didn't really want in the first place and thought he was doing a terrible job in office. But many people in many countries feel the same about their national leaders. A major part of democracy is accepting the winner has power until the electorate says otherwise. That basic principle has been breached here.

We in the West (whatever that even means) can't apply principles differently by geography. Many in the media and the government in this country seem pleased with Morsi's deposition. Had they been tanks on the streets of France, placing Francois Hollande under house arrest and outlawing the Socialist Party, would we have said "Well, it's a complex situation and we call for all sides to work to reduce tensions?" Like hell would we have.

This country was ruled by soldiers once, nearly 400 years ago. We should be thankful the scars from that experience run so deep it will not happen again. And pity the Muslim Brotherhood. Yes, it made a mess in government. But that doesn't mean it should have had to face down tanks as a result.