JUDGING by the intensifying demonstrations in Tahrir Square, the gulf between Egyptian protesters and the country’s military-led government seems to be getting wider. The protestors’ ire is directed at the generals — especially Field Marshal Mohammad Tantawi —whom they see as a continuation of the Hosni Mubarak regime. The demonstrations reflect the widespread belief that the generals want to stick to power. No less than 39 political parties and groups are behind the rallies in Cairo and elsewhere. This shows the extent to which the civilian government and the military have alienated themselves from the people. Even though these political parties, including the rival Islamists (Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis), differ among themselves, they share anti-army sentiments and seem determined to resist the military’s proposals to amend the constitution. Briefly, the military wants exemption from a parliamentary review of its budget and internal working. More ominously, it wants to delay the presidential election due in April. This has added to doubts that the generals are really interested in a transition to democracy.

Countries that have experienced the Arab Spring fall into two categories — those where the dictators have fallen (Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) and those where the struggle goes on (Bahrain, Syria and Yemen). The task for the caretaker regimes in the first category is to move towards democracy, and Tunisia has shown the way. If Libya is taking time to settle down and hold elections, one can understand, given the duration of the civil war and the extent of havoc wreaked in that country. But in Egypt it took only 18 days for the Mubarak regime to fall. That the generals should still prevaricate casts doubts on their intentions. The sensible course is not to delay the presidential election and to leave the constitutional amendments to the elected assembly, with the parliamentary election process scheduled to begin next Monday. The discarded Turkish model, in which the army was the protector of the constitution, will obviously not be acceptable to the Egyptian people, who have gained a new confidence in their ability to resist dictatorship.