Brian Whitaker in Cairo The Guardian, Wednesday September 7, 2005 Article historyOld habits die hard, especially in Egypt. When President Hosni Mubarak launched his election campaign, the party faithfully declared their support in traditional fashion. "With our souls, with our blood, we will sacrifice for you," they chanted, but the president was not pleased and asked them to stop.
Those are the words that Arab crowds have parroted for decades, pledging eternal loyalty to Saddam Hussein and Yasser Arafat among others, but in the new world of Egyptian politics they are seriously off-message - the equivalent of singing The Red Flag at a Labour rally in Britain.
Today, after 24 years in power, the veteran Egyptian leader will face the first competitive election of his presidency, against nine challengers. Drawing a discreet veil over the past, posters hail him as "a crossing to the future". The president has been repackaged, rejuvenated and remarketed: he is New Mubarak.
Though 77 years old, he looks remarkably youthful in all the pictures - testimony, perhaps, to the effectiveness of Grecian 2000, stage makeup, judicious lighting and Adobe Photoshop.
His speeches have a softer tone, he has taken off his tie to acquire a more relaxed look, he sips tea with peasants and is seen less often with his sunglasses ("dictator glasses", as the spin doctors call them). In tune with the times, he has a website in Arabic and English (mubarak2005.com) where anyone can apparently send messages direct to the president.
The creation of New Mubarak is largely the work of the president's son, Gamal - a regular observer at party conferences in Britain - and Muhammad Kamal, the campaign's media coordinator. Mr Kamal has a PhD in American politics and, judging by his smooth performances, has spent hours practising the techniques of White House spokesmen.
The readily digestible New Mubarak package comes with promises of economic progress and political reform which - for the president's opponents - raise the question of why he did so little about them during his first four terms.
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