New Socio-Political Actors: The Brotherhood and Business in Egypt

Egypt's business community was divided over the choice of president in Egypt's June presidential election run-off. Economic policy was never at the forefront of the campaign and it seems likely that businesspeople voted largely on who they thought was best placed to guide the country’s political transition rather than on business-specific issues like taxation or investment laws. Egypt's economy faces serious structural weaknesses, and since winning a plurality of votes in the parliamentary elections in November 2011 and January 2012, and now the presidency, the Brotherhood has been making efforts to reach out to both local and foreign businesses.