What happened to the revolution? Egypt left facing choice between Islamists and Mubarak's last prime minister The activists who led the Tahrir Square revolution took their celebrated wit to their favoured social networks in outrage. "If it's really Shafiq/Morsi then I'm launching a vote-for-Satan campaign," wrote Ashraf Khalil, author of a book on the revolution, on Twitter. Why settle for a lesser evil? I'm cool. My business will thrive," said Hossam Bahgat, head of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and one of the country's best-known human rights activists. He had supported Abdulmoneim Aboul Fotouh, a "liberal Islamist" once favoured to win who faded in the final week and seemed likely to end up in fourth place. Both men may ironically have been fatally damaged by being considered such favourites that they were invited to contest a one-on-one television debate, in which they successfully eviscerated each other politically. Mr Aboul Fotouh came over as a "flip-flop" candidate and Mr Moussa, 75, as anti-Muslim, elderly and aloof. Many liberals were resting their hopes on a strong showing by Hamdeen Sabahi, the left-wing nationalist whose late surge in the polls raised their hopes and who last night was still in with an outside chance of pipping Mr Shafiq for the second run-off place. But hanging over the result was a threat of more of the bouts of violence that have plagued the country since Mr Mubarak stepped down, with Mr Shafiq promising no quarter to opponents threatening to "return to the Square" to prevent his election. "Whoever wins someone won't be satisfied," his spokeswoman told The Daily Telegraph. However, some political analysts said that the middle-of-the-road candidates, in speaking to a battle of ideas, neglected issues which mattered more to the mass of Egypt's voters and which both the Brotherhood and Mr Shafiq hammered home. The Brotherhood put forward a comprehensive programme for social change, calculated to appeal to the provincial lower middle classes, called the Renaissance Project and focusing on education, social justice and a free market economy. Mr Shafiq stood as a law-and-order candidate, appealing to those who claimed there had been an increase in crime since many of the feared and often corrupt police force were taken off the streets during the revolution. He seems to have benefited from a big swing in his favour from Egypt's Christian minority which fears the rise of political Islam. While the Muslim Brotherhood promised to respect Christians' rights, few of the other candidates went out of their way to court their votes by promising to protect them.