From the Daily News Egypt…

“What happened on April 6 and May 4 is nothing but a failed attempt,” said Safwat El-Sherif, head of the Shoura Council, speaking to Rose Al-Youssef newspaper.
“They think that the society is unaware or oblivious to facts,” El-Sherif said. He, however, considered both strikes an opportunity for the National Democratic Party (NDP) to test its abilities in dealing with new political movements, such as the ones sprouting online on websites like Facebook.
He also warned that some groups that lack empirical existence on the streets may use these innocent young thoughts to create a “hollow existence”.
He described the media that takes advantage of this as “adolescent media”.
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In reference to the debates surrounding the Lawyers’ Syndicate and the draft law, El-Sherif said, “I think political parties should not intervene with professional syndicates, but because syndicates became invaded by political parties, I have no choice but to intervene.”
The amendments to the current law focus on the board of elected representatives of the Lawyers’ Syndicate.
“The government performance is different from what it was in 2005, which is seen in the high development rates and the increase in job opportunities,” he said.
“A lot of the promises made by the president’s electoral campaign were met by the government on many levels; economically and socially.” However, he justifies the government’s most criticized decisions such as price hikes, saying that international conditions put pressure on the government.
He then referred to population growth, saying that it depends on people’s awareness of the issue’s importance. “Every year we are required to give 1.2 million graduates jobs and enroll another million children in schools and this requires a lot of effort from the government,” El-Sherif said.
El-Sherif also touched upon issuing licenses to private newspapers, saying that he is not worried because it has been two years since the last license was given to a newspaper, adding that only four or five applicants have met the criteria since then.
“When I increase the number of newspapers, I am spreading moderation and reducing extremism,” he said. He also added that “this will only affect the private press but not the local press.”