CAIRO—The beginnings of the national dialogue in Egypt came unexpectedly, as things went down a different path described as an early turning of the table by civil forces on the government, which may have hoped to do the same by containing political currents and involving them in bearing part of the consequences of the current economic crisis.

As soon as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's recorded speech to the conference ended, former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa's speech descended on the audience like a thunderbolt, according to lawyer and human rights activist Adel Soliman.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Suleiman pointed out that Moussa threw a ball of flame, and spoke about what many did not expect and was silent about him over the past years, with regard to the jurisprudence of priorities, freedoms and rights, and hold the government responsible for the current crisis.

Questions and criticisms

In his speech, Moses said people were wondering, "What happened and what's going on? Where is the jurisprudence of priorities in the selection of projects? And where are the principles of transparency? What is the status of the accumulated debt, areas of expenditure and how to repay it? Especially since the economy is tired and exhausted."

Moussa, who chaired the Committee of Fifty that prepared the country's constitution in 2014, added that "people are wondering about freedoms and their guarantees, parliament and its performance, parties and their mechanisms, investment and its decline and the flight of Egyptian investments to lead and profit in other markets, and people are wondering about inflation and prices to where and for how long."

Moussa, the former secretary-general of the Arab League, also criticized Egypt's security policies, asking, "Have security policies controlled Egypt's economic movement, slowed it down and restricted it? Did the Egyptian bureaucracy paralyze the investment movement and stop it?"

He raised the biggest question mark about the detainees, saying, "People are wondering about the fate of those held in pretrial detention... The time has come to deal directly, immediately and comprehensively with this file to close it permanently. We go to what is most important and lasting."

Fiery Message

Mohamed Baraka, a professor of sociology at Fayoum University, described Moussa's speech as a "fiery message", adding that "the knight of Egyptian diplomacy struck and hurt".

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Baraka said that Moussa gave an accurate description of the Egyptian situation, calling on the government to listen to the voice of reason and wisdom, adding, "We are waiting."

While observers praised Moussa's speech, others said it was long overdue, especially with regard to the "jurisprudence of priorities for government projects."

Lotfi Zalat, an academic at October University, said the government is proceeding with its projects and will not stop, adding, "Where was Moussa throughout the past years, in which Egypt suffered from an imbalance of priorities." Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Zalat expected things not to change much, but said that Moussa deserves thanks despite his delay.

Openness Guide

On the other hand, Sayed al-Awadhi, a journalist participating in the conference, said that Moussa's speech is evidence of great openness in policies, adding that the intervention is evidence of the government's belief in freedoms.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Al-Awadi said that the door to freedoms can not open wide once, considering that the country has been suffering from major political and security turmoil since 2011.

In the same vein, Ezzat Wajih, a member of the group's team, praised Moussa's speech and said that everything discussed would receive great attention from the state.

He pointed to the government's keenness to broadcast all sessions live and transparently, calling on all participants to continue to present their proposals in all transparency, stressing that the government listens well and monitors everything that is said, and that the new republic means more political openness.

Civic Power Opportunity

In the same vein, the head of the Egyptian Democratic Party, Farid Zahran, spoke sharply and publicly criticizing the government's policies, describing the title of the dialogue as a "crisis," rejecting any attempt to blame anyone other than the government for the current crises.

In his speech, Zahran said that he came to participate as a result of a decision by the civil forces, "as if he did not want to attend," in the words of human rights activist Ahmed Gharib.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Gharib said that civil forces may have seized the opportunity to express what they suffer from suppression of their freedom during the years following 2013.

Gharib pointed out that the Civil Forces Movement – which includes 12 political parties – rejected from the first moment and very cleverly the participation of the regime in taking responsibility for the current crises, stressing that the regime alone bears full responsibility for its sole decision-making and implementation of projects, in the absence of parliament and all oversight mechanisms.

Reluctance to participate

Civil forces spokesman Khaled Daoud said many factions were reluctant to participate.

In press statements, Daoud explained that the heads of 12 parties and 10 public figures held a meeting before the start of the conference at the headquarters of the Conservative Party that lasted about 4 hours, at the end of which the decision to participate in the national dialogue was voted on, and the result of the vote was 13 participants in favor and 9 against.

While activists spoke of a split in the civil forces over participation, former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi said only that he hopes that the national dialogue will succeed in reaching the desired results, leading to reaching the maximum dialogue and achieving what everyone aspires to.

This came as Sabahi's Karama party suffered from cracks, due to participation in the dialogue and accusations of participating in whitewashing the regime.

While supporters of participation see dialogue as an opportunity that will not be repeated for civil forces, activist and party member Mohamed El-Sherbiny said that dialogue only includes those who have obtained a national instrument from the regime, as he put it.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, El-Sherbiny considered that the solution to the current economic crises starts from politics. Despite his objection to participation, El-Sherbiny said that former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa's speech threw a large stone into the stagnant waters.