Presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali said appointing former Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri as an adviser is not a revocal of President Mohamed Morsy’s previous criticisms of him.
In response to questions from state-run Al-Ahram newspaper Saturday as to why Morsy and the Freedom and Justice Party attacked Ganzouri’s cabinet ahead of elections and then appointed him as an adviser, Ali said that criticizing the former prime minister does not mean underestimating his national and economic value.
Morsy granted Ganzouri Order of the Republic on Thursday and appointed him as an advisor, a step that stoked controversy in some quarters. Morsy had earlier selected Hesham Qandil, former Irrigation Minister under Ganzouri, as prime minister.
The performance of Ganzouri’s Cabinet was criticized by many parties, including the Freedom and Justice Party.
Ali said that Morsy’s earlier criticism of Ganzouri targeted his Cabinet performance and not his character, adding that the president would be able to assign him to different adviser roles as he saw fit.
Novelist Alaa Al Aswany called Ganzouri’s appointment a “disappointing contradiction” in a tweet Saturday, in light of Morsy’s previous criticism of him.
Meanwhile, Freedom and Justice Party chief Essam al-Erian said on his Twitter account that honoring Ganzouri and utilizing his experience is a message to all former officials that Egypt needs their experience. He said there would be no marginalization or revenge against anyone for their previous political affiliations.
