I hadn’t been intending to say any more about Farouk Hosni and his unsuccessful bid to become head of Unesco, but his unseemly behaviour yesterday – blaming a Jewish conspiracy – merely confirms his unworthiness for the post.

Sections of the Egyptian media are spinning a similar line, as well as portraying the result as evidence of Islamophobia and US/European domination. The idea that Hosni was seeking the job as some kind of Islamic representative is particularly laughable and his defeat at the hands of a Bulgarian woman can scarcely be interpreted as western imperialism.

The fact is that the Egyptian regime had set great store by Hosni’s expected election, in order to enhance – undeservedly – its international prestige, and now it has lost face badly. Complaining about the outcome of the election is also a bit rich, coming from a regime that is one of the world’s leading experts in electoral manipulation.

Probably the best quote on the affair comes from Abdel-Wahab al-Effendi, writing in al-Quds al-Arabi: “In a dictatorship, the role of the minister of culture isn't to protect culture, but to stifle culture and to protect the regime.”

For some interesting takes on the story, see al-Arabiya, the 
German Press Agency and Egyptian Chronicles.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 24 September 2009.