It's intriguing that the first public figure Mohamed ElBaradei met after returning to Egypt was Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, who has also been mooted as a possible candidate in next year's presidential election.

What did they talk about? Well, neither man is saying very much, but "the nuclear file" was mentioned. Come to think of it, that's quite a good metaphor for the explosive question of who will succeed Mubarak.

Moussa is an ambivalent figure. He was Egypt's foreign minister for years and a regime loyalist, though he was later kicked sideways to run the Arab League – allegedly because he became too popular for Mubarak's liking.

Zeinobia, at the Egyptian Chronicles blog, wonders if Moussa met ElBaradei as a friend or as a messenger for the regime. It looks as though we'll be kept guessing for a while but Zeinobia suggests that if Moussa's purpose was to warn ElBaradei off, he could have done it a lot more quietly.

Meanwhile, ElBaradei has given more broad hints about running for the presidency. Here are some of his remarks from a TV interview,reported by al-Masry al-Youm:

• "I'm willing to run against anyone in upcoming presidential elections if the public wants me to."

• "I'm no saviour, but you can help me transform the authoritarian system – by which we've been ruled for 7000 years – into a democratic system. I would wager that about 99% of the people are desirous of this change."

• "We must change from a people who are told what to do into a people who can present their political, social and economic demands in an appropriate manner."

• "How can our constitution deprive 99% of the people of the right to run in elections?"

• "I have no army or government behind me, but I have independent thought. If this scares the regime, then we're in more trouble than we think."

• "I can't promise the poor prosperity, but I'll try to achieve acceptable living conditions and a better future. If I succeed, it will be because of you; if I fail, I will step aside for someone else to take my place."

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 23 February 2010.