By William Tucker

A few hours ago the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Egypt’s interim ruling government, followed through on its promise to lift the state of emergency that has been in place since the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat. In many ways this is certainly a momentous decision, but it does little to change the political reality in Egypt. The recent presidential polls have resulted in a runoff pitting the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi against Ahmed Shafiq, the former prime minister under ousted president Hosni Mubarak. This tight of a race really undermines the notion that the majority of Egyptians were ready to usher in a western style liberal democracy. To further emphasize the reality, Hosni Mubarak was still the most popular politician up until a few months ago. What’s really at stake isn’t just the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, but how Egypt will manage the ever-present political prowess of the military versus the popular Brotherhood. The next election will decide who will hold the post of the presidency; however the question of who will hold the true political power in Cairo is yet to be settled.