Mohamed Morsi is the first elected President in the region’s most strategic country. However, his election takes place under difficult circumstances given the efforts of the military to protect their financial and institutional interests.

Despite being first a “defender of the revolution”, the Supreme Court of Armed Forces (SCAF) has been trying over the past 18 months to “colonise the civil state”, damaging its political credibility. Andrea Teti and Gennaro Gervasio argue that the SCAF accepted Morsi’s ascent to the Presidency in order to keep its privileges without exerting power directly. The key question will be whether Mohamed Morsi is able to address Egypt’s deep socioeconomic challenges while containing the ambitions of the military in the political arena.