Hello comrades.

That was the impression I got.

Matthew: busy night on Egyptian bandwidth!

So, I talked with Maram - from my story - and she decided to vote the leftist, socialist, pro-revolutionary, nationalist candidate Hamdeen Sabahi. Not surprising.

The big surprise was when Iman, Maram's mom, told me she was going for the candidate who's an ex-Muslim Brotherhood leader and moderate Islamist, Aboul Fotouh

@AnGaeilgeoir So, not sure it's impossible. But still mind-boggling to think of how to pull the lower class in Egypt up. Something like 40% of the country lives on $2/day

Is the changing of class status hard-wired into these cultures in the same way it is in the United States? I say this because every politician has something to say about the American dream, and it seems every American believes that if they try hard enough they'll be able to move up. It's probably a myth for many people, but the belief in the American dream exists nonetheless.

@Stephen Snyder The leadership of the Brotherhood is vey middle class. Lots of physicians, engineers, teachers. They're political power though extends into lower classes. I think their victory today (surprising to some experts) shows the strength of their organization. They've spent years helping the very poor with things like food, education.

Whoops- I meant to complete the thought that since there was no crossing, the lower classes never even came to mind.

@Alex: I think what's interesting about the former Soviet Union is that the older generation was taught to think of class as a decadent Western problem. When people became much more blatant about accumulating wealth after the end of Communism, it was a rude shock. But now a third movement has been happening, as people realize that trappings of wealth can't assure you of being middle class: social protections and civic society are also important.

@matthewjbell ...or they'll find themselves learning the same lessons as the French aristocracy learned in the late 1700s.

@AnGaeilgeoir What's interesting about the apparent victory of the Brotherhood and the ex-Mubarak man, is that both are candidates who reject profound change.

@matthewjbell Definitely; although as you say, the Muslim Brotherhood has spent years on infrastructure. The Mubarak man might be more surprising if there wasn't so much entrenched there as well.

@Julia Barton Maybe not so much with comparisons to the west... but I've heard Egyptians express a sense of shame about the incompetence and brutality of the former regime, with a feeling that a country that was once the most important power in the Arab region just deserves better. Also get the sense that people here are sensitive about the rest of the world seeing Egypt as a place of perpetual unrest and violence.

@Patrick Another factor in middle class growth that we only touched on my piece is the new availability of credit. How much as this economic factor played out in other stories in this series?

@Stephen Believe me, there is no IKEA in Ukraine, not yet.

@Patrick Cox Not sure yet. I noticed Iman tweeted something about today being a dark day. For her, Maram and many secular Egyptian liberals, this is a real disaster.