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After 28 years in power in Egypt, President Mubarak's promise to shepherd his country into a stable democracy has dissipated. It is the awaited transition that never happened.
BBC Arab Affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi attempts to understand what has happened to Egypt in the half century since the military seized power.
Curiously it seems that the Egyptians - some fearful of the Islamist opposition, others suspicious of the new business elite - are looking to the army again for a saviour.
First broadcast Friday 22nd of June 2009
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