Daunting task for the new president

The brutal violence used to suppress protesters in Cairo this week led to a massive march on Wednesday attended by representatives of almost every Egyptian political group, all of which demanded an end to the bloodshed they believe was orchestrated by the government. At least 12 people were killed by suspected supporters of Egypt's military rulers.

Leading presidential hopefuls Abdul Moneim Abu Al Fotouh and Khalid Ali were both in the march, along with several prominent members of Hamdeen Sabahi's team, as well as marchers from the April 6 Youth Movement, the Kefaya protest movement and the Revolutionary Youth Coalition.

Al Fotouh, Ali and Sabahi, as well as Freedom and Justice Party candidate Mohammad Mursi, have all suspended their campaigns to protest against the violence against political demonstrators. This widespread reaction has been good for Egyptian political life in the sense that it has reminded all parties that they face a serious danger from the military and security forces.

The military government has reacted by promising to hand over power early if there is a clear winner in the May 23-24 presidential polls, rather than waiting until the end of June as previously planned. It is still unclear how the military authorities will behave when confronted by a democratically-elected president, who should insist that they subordinate themselves to civilian power, despite their attempt to rig the future constitution by giving the military a special position and extra-constitutional protection.

The new president will have the invidious position of being stuck between the Islamist-dominated parliament and the entrenched military authority, with the necessity of restarting the constitutional panel on an inclusive basis which will rewrite the constitution and thereby probably redefine the roles of the present and future parliament. This all adds up to a very daunting task.