"We want your opinion on the dollar price increase".. Alaa Mubarak comments again on Youssef Boutros Ghali blaming his father for inflation
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(CNN)—Alaa Mubarak, son of late Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, commented again on remarks by former Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali, who said Mubarak bears responsibility for current inflation and price hikes.
Youssef Boutros Ghali said that "the current price hikes are being paid for by Mubarak, who rejected my proposal to lift subsidies on gasoline," according to his statement.
He added during a recent TV interview with journalist Lamis El Hadidi, responding to a question about the mistake that led to the current outcome of rising prices: "I was in charge of the economy. I don't see that what led to the 2011 events originated from the economy, but there were other sources and reasons, not the economic situation..."
The former minister continued: "Certainly our economic team made mistakes, and among what we should have done at the time was energy prices. We did not lift subsidies on energy prices. Had we gradually raised energy prices by 5% back then, we would not have been forced to raise energy prices by 20% or 50% at once. I was among the first to say that raising energy prices was necessary, and President Mubarak rejected my proposal to raise diesel prices." He added: "The current political leadership has the courage to make difficult decisions because they see the necessity of taking those decisions, and that is the best thing available today. The President has vision and ambition, and if a difficult decision is placed before him, he must take it if required, and that is an advantage of the current era," as he said.
In response to those remarks, Alaa Mubarak wrote in a post on his official account on platform 'X', formerly Twitter: "Dr. Youssef, we would like to hear your opinion on the impact of the dollar increase from 6 pounds in the final days of President Mubarak's rule, may God have mercy on him, to about 52 pounds today on current price hikes and energy subsidies! Is Mubarak to blame for this?"
One user of 'X' responded to Alaa Mubarak, saying: "I wish your question were based on a fair comparison, Mr. Alaa. For example, wages were 500 pounds, not to mention the extraordinary development that has taken place in the country. We all of course love the late president, may God have mercy on him, but we are in an era of development that Egypt has not witnessed for a long time. Regards to your gracious self."
The former president's son replied: "Mr. Ahmed, it is fair to look at the state of the country and the challenges that existed when President Mubarak came to power after the assassination of President Sadat, the state of terrorism, the plot to overthrow the regime, severed Arab relations, and no foreign investments. This is not to diminish Sadat, may God have mercy on him, because the focus and effort were primarily directed at preparing for war, liberating the land, and erasing the defeat of 1967. Sadat succeeded and amazed the world with his cunning. When you judge President Mubarak's era, do not overlook the circumstances and conditions the country was in, and forget the immense effort made by successive governments..."
Youssef Boutros Ghali, who left Egypt during the events of the January 25, 2011 revolution that toppled Mubarak's regime, heading to London, where he holds British citizenship, faced accusations of embezzlement and squandering public funds. A sentence of 30 years of hard labor was issued against him in absentia in June 2011.
Egypt had announced that it had officially begun procedures to request Ghali's extradition after his arrest in France by Interpol, based on a notice issued by Cairo to arrest him to enforce judicial rulings against him.
After Youssef Boutros Ghali faced a number of accusations in cases including the 'customs case' and 'metal plates case,' in which he received acquittals in 2022 and 2023, he was appointed to the Specialized Council for Economic Development in Egypt in August 2024.
Original source: CNN Arabic
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