PRESIDENTIAL SON RAISES HIS PROFILE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 001049 SIPDIS NSC FOR PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2028 TAGS: PREL PGOV IS EG SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL SON RAISES HIS PROFILE REF: 2007 CAIRO 3080 Classified By: Ambassador Margaret Scobey, for reason 1.4 (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Presidential son and presidential aspirant Gamal Mubarak has noticeably amped his public activities over the past few weeks. Gamal's unusual spate of press interviews, as well as his marked criticism of President Bush's May 18 speech in Sharm Al Shaykh, may be part of a purposeful effort to raise his profile, improve his public image, and increase his involvement in foreign policy issues. End summary. ¶2. (C) Gamal kicked off an unusually active public round of activities on April 20 and May 7, when he conducted two separate interviews on the Egypt Channel One interview shows "Point of View" and "State of Dialogue." Gamal next led a May 13-15 visit of a National Democratic Party delegation to Paris, where he met with President Nicolas Sarkozy, French political party leaders, and other government officials. Gamal gave two lengthy interviews (one in English and one in Arabic) on May 15 to France 24 TV, which got significant press coverage in Egypt. He also was interviewed by the French magazine "Le Monde Diplomatique." Gamal next traveled to Sharm El Shaykh for the May 18-20 World Economic Forum (WEF). Over those two days, he gave two TV interviews; a May 19 interview with the "Speak Up" show on Egypt's Channel One, and a subsequent May 20 interview on the pan-Arab satellite Al Arabiyah channel. ¶3. (SBU) In both interviews at the WEF, Gamal's focus on foreign affairs was striking. In comments later released separately by the Egyptian government news agency, Gamal told Egypt's Channel One that President Bush's May 18 speech to the WEF was "frustrating," and that, "anybody who has followed previous remarks by Bush on the Palestinian cause will find that nothing new was added .... There had been some hope that Bush would announce something new about the U.S. stance during his speech, but nothing happened." In his May 20 Al Arabiyah interview, Gamal noted that his party "greatly differs" with President Bush's May 18 remarks, and that, "when the U.S. president delivers a speech we must listen to it and analyze it, but that does not necessarily mean we agree with it." Gamal also commented to Al Arabiyah that he "doubts President Bush will be able to honor his promise regarding achieving peace by the end of this year," and that, "no progress has been made since President Bush's last regional visit three months ago." ¶4. (SBU) At a May 20 WEF session, Gamal remarked, "A fair deal for the Palestinian-Israeli struggle and for the entire conflict has to be in place if this region is to move beyond the difficulties of struggle to the vistas of development and cooperation. The celebration that this region needs is not the 60th anniversary of a particular state. What this region needs is the celebration of full, fair, and irreversible peace that can take all of the peoples of the region towards sustainable development and prosperity." In the days following his remarks, Egypt's state-run media has portrayed Gamal as admirably standing up to Israel and the United States. ¶5. (C) In addition to his increased appetite for media appearances, Gamal also seems to be seeking more engagement on foreign policy issues overall. His senior foreign policy advisor recently called us to suggest that Gamal wants to meet with visiting U.S. officials and congressional delegations. Such meetings with Gamal had become nearly impossible for us to get over the past year, due to a distinct lack of enthusiasm from Gamal's side. Our Israeli embassy contacts report that on the sielines of the WEF, Gamal met one-on-one with Isreli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, the first tie he has agreed to meet with an Israeli officialsince a 2006 encounter with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. ¶6. (C) Gamal's wife Khadiga Gamal was aso front and center at the WEF. At Egyptian Firt Lady Suzanne Mubarak's invitation, she particiated in a lunch with U.S. First Lady Laura Bush. The dynamic between Suzanne Mubarak and Khadiga as very friendly, with a mother-daughter feel, as well as a sense that Suzanne was using the lunch opportunity to train Khadiga in the conduct of such affairs. ¶7. (C) Comment: Gamal has previously engaged in similar blitzes of media outreach, usually surrounding the annual conference of the National Democratic Party, but largely maintained a low press profile since the November 2007 NDP conference. His activities over the past few weeks have been particularly notable due to his unusual comments on foreign policy issues, a subject he normally steers clear of CAIRO 00001049 002 OF 002 publicly, and most particularly his criticism of President Bush. Some Egyptian pundits see Gamal's criticism of the U.S. as an attempt to appeal to Egyptian anti-American and anti-Israel sentiment, and thereby improve his image with the Egyptian public. The substance of Gamal's remarks, as well as a casual appearance in all his WEF appearances (a suit and tie is normally de rigeur for him),lend further credence to the sense that an effort is underway to re-present him to the Egyptian public. End comment. SCOBEY