The arrest last night of 2012 presidential candidate and ex-Ikhwan member Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh was a quiet affair on the air waves compared to the stir caused by the arrest of former top auditor Hesham Genena. Aboul Fotouh’s predicament received little attention from the nation’s talking heads, especially with Amr Adib off for the evening and Hona Al Asema’s Lamees Al Hadidi making do with a pre-recorded episode.

Al Hayah Al Youm’s Nahawand Serry spoke to retired general Mohamed Zaki El Alfy, who lambasted the Islamist, calling him “a tool being used by conspirators” to undermine Egypt’s stability (watch, runtime 3:19). The host also launched her own offensive against Aboul Fotouh for his interview with Qatari mouthpiece Aljazeera, saying his statements peddled the Ikhwani agenda (watch, runtime 4:53).

Masaa DMC’s Osama Kamal spoke to Islamist expert Tharwat El Kharbawy, who said the arrest is completely warranted given Aboul Fotouh’s connection to the Ikhwan, which remained unbroken despite him ostensibly leaving the group to run in the 2012 presidential election (watch, runtime 9:37).

Kamal then jumped over to a discussion over the EGP 245 bn in debt that different government bodies owe the state from FY2016/17. House Planning and Budgeting Committee deputy head Yasser Omar said that state-owned media alone has racked up a tab of EGP 11 bn over the course of 30 years, according to Omar. The MP suggested that it may be best to simply exempt the press from making these payments since “they don’t have the cash,” which Kamal said could set a dangerous precedent for tax and debt evasion for both institutions and individuals alike (watch, runtime 6:24).

Kamal also discussed the apparent dumping of Turkish products in the Egyptian market with Anti-Dumping Authority head Ibrahim El Segeni, who said that a number of Turkish-made products are being sold in Egypt at lower prices than in Turkey (watch, runtime 3:52). The garment industry is feeling the pinch from this practice, according to Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries’ readymade garments division Mohamed Abdel Salam. He claimed that there are some goods that make their way from Turkey into Egypt illegally (watch, runtime 7:10).

Over on Yahduth fi Masr, Sherif Amer had a chat with Cabinet spokesman Ashraf Sultan to recap the most important decisions taken during the ministers’ weekly meeting yesterday (we have chapter and verse in Speed Round, below) (watch, runtime 3:00).