Ziad Bahaa El Din criticises leftist political parties, says Egypt needs better opposition: Former deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa El Din says in his Al Shorouk column that political opposition to the Ismail government’s economic reform agenda fails to differentiate between the causes and the consequences of economic reforms. It is the years of poor economic policy-making that have led to “impoverishing” Egyptians, not the most recent spate of reforms, he says. He is specifically unhappy with the actions (or lack thereof) taken during the period that followed the EEDC and the reliance on national megaprojects at “unjustifiably” excessive costs and speeds. He also says that if leftist parties believe that investments are essential for economic development, then there is no business for them in setting what investors can or cannot invest in, their profit margins, or in controlling profit repatriation. Bahaa El Din, a former member of the Social Democratic Party, also asks opposition movements and parties to be a bit more realistic, and calls them ideologically inconsistent. They can either agree to a doctrine that believes in lower taxes and a reduced government involvement or higher taxes so that the government can increase its spending, but the mix of calls for lower taxes and increased government spending does not add up. Bahaa El Din says that while the government needs to revisit its economic policies, the opposition movements also need to revise theirs.