Egypt's presidential election: Spring can come again NEARLY a year-and-a-half after the revolution that shook the Arab world, Egypt is poised to take another stride on the bumpy road to democracy. The recent spectacle of an Islamist candidate and his more secular-minded rival arguing it out for several hours on television before an audience of millions was historic (see article). On May 23rd, 52m voters in the most populous Arab country, 82m-strong, will be entitled to vote for their president. If no candidate among the 13 runners wins more than 50%, a run-off between the top pair will take place a month later. By the beginning of July, Egypt should have its first democratically elected head of state. If the vote passes off peacefully and cleanly, it will deserve a huge hurrah. It has not been easy. The process has been bungled by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF, a cabal of senior soldiers. At times the SCAF has seemed reluctant to cede power. It has played tricks on the democrats and looked the other way or connived at human-rights abuses. It has made a hash of constitutional amendments. Indeed, the reforms are being carried out back-to-front, as the new president's powers will not be defined until after the election, once a committee chosen by parliament has agreed to a new constitution. Hence the president's first task is to cajole the new parliament into writing a constitution double-quick. Given that parliament is dominated by Islamists, this may be hard for a secular-minded president. Arguments over the role of Islam in the constitution are already steamy. The president should seek to bridge the gap between secularists and Islamists. The new duo of parliament and president also faces the delicate job of managing the army. The SCAF is likely to demand that the generals retain their vast economic privileges and perhaps even immunity from prosecution for past sins. They will expect the post of defence minister for one of their own. A new president may have to compromise, but he must ensure the soldiers start trudging back to their barracks for good. And Egypt's new leader must start urgently to restore its shattered economy. Foreign-currency reserves have been shrinking; inflation is running at 12%, tourism has slumped by a third; strikes, crime and uncertainty reduced foreign investment last year to less than a twentieth of what it was in 2007. A new president must endorse a new budget and sign off on an IMF loan (foolishly turned down under populist pressure last year by the SCAF) that should prompt others to chip in too. Back to your barracks Though opinion polls have been notoriously unreliable, four men are thought to have a chance. Some say the front-runner is Amr Moussa, now 75, who served as Mr Mubarak's foreign minister for a decade and then led the toothless Arab League with scant success. He is the choice of liberals, secularists and Egypt's large Christian minority. By far the biggest group in parliament, the Freedom and Justice Party, a front for the Muslim Brothers, with 46% of the seats, has put forward the dour Muhammad Morsi. A third candidate, Abdel Moneim Abolfotoh, a 60-year-old former Brother, is the most engaging. He jousted with Mr Moussa in the television debate and he is backed by some secular leftists as well as by the main party of Salafists, who won more than 20% of the seats in parliament. The fourth is a former air-force general, Ahmed Shafiq, who was briefly prime minister as Mr Mubarak fell. He is the old order's man and is making a late surge. No one is expected to win the first round outright. Given that a good 70% of the vote for parliament went to Islamists only a few months ago, the run-off could be between two of them. If Mr Moussa gets through, he will surely face an uphill battle. That should give pause for thought. Even if the Islamists do not so far look disastrous ones, the prospect of an Islamist president alongside an Islamist-dominated parliament where Salafists are starting to agitate for regressive social laws is worrying. Mr Moussa is part of the old system; but at least he is experienced and knows the arts of diplomacy and compromise. Both the Islamists and generals would grudgingly accept him. As a transitional figure, he deserves a tepid endorsement.