was hailed by the West in the wake of the uprising that saw the ouster of his predecessor Hosni Mubarak.
But within a year, even Egyptians who had cast their votes for Morsi were clamouring for his removal, in what some described as the largest public protests in world history. Morsi was not a popular president. His electoral triumph against Mubarak lackey Ahmad Shafik was so close that it aroused suspicions of a deal with the army. Neither of the two candidates represented Egypt’s liberal voice, whose votes wereand who failed to consolidate as an effective “third way” during the first round of voting.
An engineer by training, Morsi in fact had little experience in politics before his rapid rise to power in 2012. Within months of his inauguration it seemed clear that he was unable to command the support of the Egyptian people. On the international stage, a series of embarrassing blunders intensified the wave of domestic criticism that culminated in his downfall in 2013.Initially, Morsi showed promise.
Just one day after this success, however, Morsi announced a presidential decree that marked the beginning of the end of his rule. On November 22 2012 he issued a, appointed a new public prosecutor, and gave himself what many saw as dictatorial powers — making presidential decrees immune to judicial oversight. While Morsi claimed that these measures were necessary to protect the revolution and transition to a constitutional democracy, he was accused of appointing himself as “Egypt’s new pharaoh”.