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