Samir Radwan, Egyptian finance minister from January to July 2011, complained in a recent Bloomberg column that Egypt is drifting towards a one-party system a la Mubarak, but conveniently forgot to mention that the totalitarian Muslim Brotherhood received an indisputable mandate from the post-Mubarak Egypt in recent parliamentary elections.

It has become increasingly jarring to read analysis pieces such as the following: “At the moment, there is a political deadlock due to the acute polarization of Egyptian society between Islamists and secularists. The credibility of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood has been eroded by the widespread perception that it has sought to grab as much power as possible, by dominating all of Egypt’s institutions: executive, legislative and judiciary.”

The Egyptian people voted for the MB. Is Radwan suggesting that the electorate is dumb by thinking that the MB would have brought much needed reforms to jump-start the Egyptian economy? Why are analysts surprised by the failures and totalitarian instincts of a party which is openly against all religious minorities?

I suppose, in order to see through all the rubbish floundered on the pages and websites of Western media, one would be well-advised to visit regions that are the target of intense Western media coverage and see the reality – as painful as it might be – for what it is and only then form an educated opinion. Or conversely, foreign correspondents residing in these regions should focus on reporting rather than projecting.