Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa... who was head of the Arab League for approximately two normal lifespans, accomplishing nothing that was obvious to the casual observer ...
and Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh. Prior to the debate journalist Hafez El-Merazi, ONTV anchor Reem Maged, Dream TV anchor Amr Khafaga and MP and columnist Amr Shobaki hosted a show outlining the rules of the debate. They also compared different US and French presidential debates.
The debate was divided into two parts, each consisting of 12 questions. The first half was hosted by TV presenter Mona El-Shazli. The first part discussed the constitution, executive authorities, the economy, preferred systems of taxation and campaign financing. But ultimately, the over four-hour long debate returned time and again to two hotly debated topics: religion and the former regime.
Abul-Fotouh, a former leading figure in the Moslem Brüderbund, attempted to capitalise on Moussa's past position as foreign minister in Mubarak's government in the late 90s. Moussa fired back, portraying Abul-Fotouh as beholden to the Brotherhood and other Islamist forces.
Each candidate was posed 24 questions with two minutes to respond. At the end of each question, the two candidates were given a few minutes for their rebuttals, sparking a war of words.
Felul or Brotherhood
Moussa asked the first question: "You visited the Abbasiya sit-in and led one of the protests; then, one day later, you described the same protests as inappropriate. They really are inappropriate and chaotic, but why the contradictory stance?"
Abul-Fotouh stated that there was no contradiction, explaining that he took part in a peaceful march in solidarity with ten Egyptians who bit the dust because the ruling military council failed to protect them.
He then shot back, asking Moussa the expected question: "I'd like to ask Mr Amr Moussa, as a member of the past regime...that people revolted against, if can he become part of the solution?"
Distancing himself from Mubarak, Moussa firmly stated that the regime fell with its men on 11 February, and he was not one of them. He then turned the table on Abul-Fotouh, accusing him of still being a member of the Brotherhood, and charging that his opposition to the former regime is founded on narrow Brotherhood interests -- not Egypt's.
When it came to questions regarding healthcare, pensions, economic policies, a new constitution, the Islamist candidate offered more specific responses than the ex-diplomat, sticking to his programme and often referring to facts and figures. Moussa spoke broadly, at times answering questions with questions. This, however, was not allowed, as well-known television anchor and moderator Yusri Fouda made clear.
Islamist or Secularist
In one of his questions, Moussa asked Abul-Fotouh: "You once said in a televised interview that Moslems can convert to Christianity and vice versa... is this still your position?"
Abul-Fotouh, taken aback, waffled at first and then stressed the importance of freedom of belief and of a moderate understanding of Islam. He, however, fought back and attempted to corner Moussa and paint him as too secular.
Moussa was twice asked: "What do you mean by the general principles of Sharia?" After equivocating, the one-time Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
chief insisted that the general principles of Islamic Sharia law, as they existed in the 1971 constitution, should be applied.
"We want to know your vision about applying Sharia law, especially as you are now backed by radical Islamist groups; and in politics nothing is for free, there must be a deal and we need to know," Moussa shot back.
Iran an Arab country
The highlight of the show was when Moussa described Iran as an Arab country.