REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
The opposition now has the highest-stature symbolic leader it has ever had in former IAEA chief Mohamed El Baradei. His campaign follows years of malaise surrounding the 29-year Mubarak regime and suspicions that President Hosni Mubarak's son, Gamal, is being groomed to inherit power. The opposition movement still faces challenges from the regime and from its own internal divisions, but the regime will come under greater scrutiny as a result of El Baradei's campaign, which will probably reduce the chance of a Gamal presidency in 2011. This is the case even though El Baradei, at least for the moment, is best seen as a symbol of reform rather than a political leader.
