The Current Discussion: With the U.S. presidential primary season in full swing, there's a lot of talk here about "change" vs. "competence" in leadership. Which does your country have more of? Is that a good thing?

I am writing this on the plane taking me back to New York from Cairo, my hometown. Almost every conversation I had during the three weeks I spent in Egypt revolved around the decay and increasing poverty that continues to tighten its grip on my country. So my heart aches just to consider “change” vs. “competence”.

They are words that have been erased from modern Egypt’s political lexicon by a succession of military dictators who have ruled since a coup in 1952. The latest one, President Hosni Mubarak, has been in power since his predecessor, Anwar Sadat, was assassinated at the end of 1981. For the past 26 years, Mubarak has ruled Egypt with little regard for competence or change and he is said to be grooming his son Gamal, a former banker, to inherit his regime. So much for any competence or change on the horizon.

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