First published on 12.02.2011.
The events in Egypt continue to inform a wide number of themes. The issue I focused on last week (the hold of celebrities by the state) deserves some follow up, as the role of Mrs. Mubarak has been more closely dissected in a number of Wikileaks. Far from being content in playing a symbolic role as First Lady she was interpreted by a number of US diplomats to have played a major political role in trying to assure a dynastic succession to Gamal, the son of herself and Hosni Mubarak the now departed president.
But as promised the subject I want to move to this week shifts the ground from the old regime to scenarios for the future. In particular I view the events in Egypt as opening up the puzzle once again about in what capacity celebrities can go home again.
To suggest that an individual such as Mohamed ElBaradei is a celebrity runs into all sort of thorny definitional questions. After all, he gained some measure of fame from winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for his work as director of the UN nuclear agency. These achievements put him in a different category than those who gain celebrity status by some form of ascription.
Yet, in some ways at least the question of whether or not a notable such as ElBaradei can go home again echoes the situations of several other celebrities from the world of entertainment and sports. Although the list may be longer those I put at the top of the cluster are Wyclef Jean, George Weah and Imran Khan.
All of these individuals received some measure of kudos as long as they concentrated their attention on non-political activities. Wyclef Jean used the fame he achieved as a member of the Fugees as a platform to build the Yéle Haiti Foundation. George Weah a star footballer became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador and an advocate for youth in his home country of Liberia. Imran Khan moved from being an iconic cricketer to an activist, starting a charitable foundation in Pakistan bearing the name of his mother and serving as a UNICEF special representative for sports.
Moving from social activism to success as an elected national political leader however was a bar too high. George Weah lost the presidency in a run-off to Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf. Imran Khan had a disappointing career as a politician. And Wyclef has been barred from running for the presidency in Haiti for not meeting the residency requirements.
These failures can all be put down to problems attached to these individuals, whether opportunism or lack of organizational prowess. Yet their lack of success also reveals how difficult it is for celebrities – whether defined by ascription or achievement – to go home in a political capacity. Such a bar, although not the only constraint in the case of ElBaradei, offers one insight about how difficult it will be for him to emerge as a political victor in the Egyptian political transition.
