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Egyptians are getting angry. Their anger, more often than not, is directed towards the regime of the president Hosni Mubarak, which is renowned for its combination of repression, mismanagement and longevity. The novelist Alaa al Aswany remarked recently: “It’s a turning point in Egyptian history. We are in a very similar moment to 1949.” Three years after 1949, there was a revolution. An old, decaying order had reached its end point, as most old, decaying orders eventually do.

But Egypt, today, is a bit of an odd case. Economic indicators tell a different story – one of a country attracting investment, privatising industry, reducing the deficit and otherwise embracing difficult reforms. The prime minister Ahmed Nazif’s cabinet of...