A limited influence for Jamal Mubarak on Nazif's government; government oath today

The names of members of the new Egyptian government chaired by Ahmad Nazif eliminated expectations that associates to the son of the President Jamal Mubarak who presides over the policies committees in the ruling national party, will control almost half of its seats.

It is due that the new government in which young ministers emerge despite that half of former ministers kept their posts especially the ministers of defense and the interior, will take their constitutional oath before Mubarak today. However, the ministerial reshuffle took the shape of a " temporary one" waiting for the referendum over the fifth term of office for Mubarak and the legislative elections to be held on October and November of 2005.

The government's formation included 30 ministers and 6 members of the policies committees in the national party took ministerial seats. They are Youssef Butrous Ghali who arrived in the ministry of Finance after he was a minister of foreign trade in the government of the resigned Atif Obeid's government and Rasheed Muhammad Rasheed at the ministry of industry and foreign trade, who is the first businessman to join the ministry and the chairman of the economic committee at the national party Mahmoud Mohey Eddine who has become a minister for investment promotion.

Mubarak received yesterday morning the designated prime minister Ahmad Nazid who briefed the president with results of his talks and then headed to the headquarters of the national party in the downtown of Cairo where he started to meet with the candidates and notify them of the ministerial posts to be assigned to them. In statements to the press yesterday, Nazif said that " the ministerial formation was completed and only the minister of tourism was left," adding he will continue his consultations in order to discuss the government once again to the Egyptian President in the final shape."