Has Egypt finally broken with the myth of the 'good autocrat'? So what has changed? Arguably, modernity was the first step in Egypt's troubled recent history. It produced a new phenomenon: informal Islamists (Muslim Brotherhood, then later Salafists), who were not confined under the government-controlled religious authority. They promoted their own Islamic project in opposition to what they perceived as a Western-style decadent model. As a result, and for the first time in Egyptian history, autocratic leaders failed to control religious players. They tried several approaches in vain: appeasement, persecution, merger, and takeover. All failed, and confrontation was inevitable. The ancient policy of generals and preachers as one hand under one leader was transformed into the notion that generals and preachers as bitter enemies under different leaders, all consumed by lust for power, using the people to serve their interests. Mubarak tried a different tactic: a "deliberate stalemate," freezing the country's political and intellectual dynamic in order to stay in power for as long as possible. Indeed, it worked for 30 years, but ended in explosive fashion. Sadly, the post-Mubarak era has failed to end the old play; it just added a new act. The old dynamic is still in place but with new players. The revolution excised the tumour but failed to heal the cancer. The Egyptians woke up: they are certainly not spectators anymore, but they are still confused about their exact role. What comes next is less clear: will the new leader be canny enough to merge the generals and the preachers under his leadership? Or will they continue to battle against each other like they did in the last 60 years? Sometimes I believe that Egypt needs an exorcist to banish old demons from the minds of its people, and to kick-start a new era that's truly different from the preceding 5,000 years of static old politics. The country needs a new political dynamic, without autocrats, generals, or preachers, with strong democratic institutions that engender respect for Egyptians as citizens. Whoever is the winner of Egypt's presidential election, I am not sure he can and, more importantly, wants to take that role.