Egypt

I was going to post about what's going on there, but I've been overtaken by events.  Some of what I was going to say is still relevant though.  Lincoln famously described democracy as government "of the people, by the people, for the people". No real problem with the first two of those, but "for the people" can cause difficulties.  What it means is that governments are elected to govern for the whole country, not merely those who voted them in.  And this is at the root of the country's problems, with a clear feeling that, despite there being no question of its legitimacy, the government was proceeding on ideological rather than democratic lines.  It's difficult to see any resolution though.  It seems clear that the country is divided, with 50% or so seeking an Islamic state, and much the same proportion wanting a secular one.  So whoever ends up as top dog when the dust settles, is going to be facing the same problem, and I've got this horrible feeling that in twelve months time we may well be back here again.