As the sun beat down on the expectant throng in Tahrir Square yesterday, while the head of the electoral commission waffled his way towards the result of Egypt’s first free presidential election, it seemed for a moment that the generals fumbling the choreography of Egypt’s tumultuous transition might not have grasped the extent to which they have brought their country to the boil.
In the event, Mohammed Morsi of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood was declared the victor over Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force commander who was the last prime minister of deposed president Hosni Mubarak. Rather than erupt in riot the Tahrir crowds let off festive fireworks and bowed in prayer. But the question of who rules Egypt is far from resolved.
It is tactically astute of the military council that has steered Egypt since Mr Mubarak’s downfall to let the result stand. It would have been an act of pharaonic folly to court civil strife by trampling on the majority of voters. The generals knew Mr Morsi had won by a small but decisive margin.