CAIRO - Egypt's top comedian Adel Imam, best known for his political satires, have opened fire at Mohamed ElBaradei, a potential presidential contender, and the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's banned-yet-most influential power.
“His statements in which he likened himself to Gandhi and Martin Luther King are comic,” Imam, one of the Arab world’s most popular actors, told the independent newspaper Al Masri Al Youm in an interview.
Since returning to Egypt last February after spending around 25 years abroad, ElBaradei, the former chief of the UN nuclear watchdog, has been launching a high-profile campaign for constitutional reforms.
ElBaradei, a Nobel Laureate, has said he considers running for presidency, but made his bid conditional on guarantees for free and fair elections.
“The way to presidency should be sought through the constitution, not through visiting places of worship,” Imam said referring to ElBaradei’s recent tours of religious sites in Egypt.
Under recent constitutional changes, independents like El Baradei have to be endorsed by at least 250 members of the Parliament and local councils in order to be allowed to run for president.
This endorsement, say observers, is hard to obtain because the two houses of the Parliament and local councils are dominated by the ruling National Democratic Party.
Imam, known for his controversial political remarks, has slammed ElBaradei's recent rapprochement towards the Muslim Brotherhood as political expediency.
Imam, now in his mid-sixties, said he had briefly joined the Muslim Brotherhood before the group was officially banned in 1954.
“President (Hosni) Mubarak has led a political revolution of rectification in Egypt and has son Gamal is the most qualified to succeed him,” said Imam, who has performed in more than 100 films over the past 46 years.
Mubarak, who has been in power since 1981, has yet to say if he will seek a sixth term in office.
On several occasions, he has denied opposition’s claims that he is grooming Gamal, an influential politician in the ruling party, to succeed him.
"Gamal is well versed in economic and politics. He has made the National Democratic Party a real (political) party," said Imam.
