Via the BBC: Egypt’s army gives parties 48 hours to resolve crisis
Egypt’s army has given the country’s rival parties 48 hours to resolve a deadly political crisis.
It would offer its own "road map" for peace if Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and his opponents failed to heed "the will of the people", it said.
The statement came after anti-government protesters stormed the Cairo headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood.
At a minimum this a coup threat. I have already seen one political scientist that I know who studies coups call this an attempted coup in a Facebook post.
This situation does underscore what I have been noting for over a year: the ultimate political power in Egypt still resides with the military. The question becomes, however, in the face of the current crisis as to whether that power is sufficient to subdue the situation should that power be deployed.
Another major issue here: Egypt’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism. However, tourism cannot function in the context of all of this chaos (and, indeed, has suffered substantially since the start of the uprisings). This creates a serious and self-reinforcing cycle because as the protestors object to the poor state of the economy, the economy is further worsened.
