Where’s My Mercedes? Egypt’s Financial Crisis Hits the Rich
Wealthy Egyptians were among President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s most ardent supporters after he seized power in 2013, favoring stability and a harsh crackdown on Islamists, even at the cost of civil liberties. But that loyalty is being tested now, as Egypt’s severe shortage of foreign currency cripples businesses, impedes luxury imports and crimps their lifestyles. And that has prompted a tide of unusually sharp criticism of Mr. Sisi.
.. Mr. Sisi is using what scarce resources he has mainly to help the poor — and the seven million people on the state’s payroll — by propping up the value of Egypt’s currency.
.. “No class or demographic is happy now, from Alexandria to Upper Egypt. Sisi isn’t satisfying anyone.”
.. The country’s tourism minister says that the slump has cost Egypt $1.3 billion in revenue since then, and that the number of visitors to the country was down 44 percent in January.
.. Egypt’s Gulf allies, like Saudi Arabia, used to give the country generous aid — some $30 billion in the first two years of Mr. Sisi’s rule — but since last summer that has slowed to a trickle.
.. General Motors has a car plant in Egypt, but it had to temporarily halt production recently because it could not get the parts it needed. Foreign airlines have threatened to curtail flights to Egypt because of rules blocking them from repatriating profits. For a time, British Airways stopped selling tickets in Egyptian currency.
.. Still, there remain plenty of Egyptians, rich and poor, who continue to see Mr. Sisi as a bulwark against the instability that has roiled other countries in the region.