CAIRO — Salah Hasaballah, the head of the Freedom Party and parliament spokesman, kicked off the party’s Feb. 24 press conference to announce its endorsement for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the upcoming election. Al-Bawaba news quoted him as opening with, “President Sisi stood up to the Brotherhood and countered their attempts to seize power. He risked his own life to save Egyptians from destruction.” Hasaballah’s remarks show how strongly politicians and everyday citizens support Sisi just for being the Muslim Brotherhood’s adversary.

However, a Feb. 6 Bloomberg article cited Brotherhood sources saying Sisi intends to reconcile with the group ahead of the election. The piece has caused a flurry of reaction articles.

In a Feb. 7 al-Modon article, Muslim Brotherhood sources in Egypt were quoted as saying that Sisi seeks to reconcile with imprisoned Brotherhood leaders via mediators from military intelligence as part of a “deal whereby senior leaders will be freed in exchange for disengaging from politics.”

Bloomberg noted that Sisi dismissed the director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate, Gen. Khaled Fawzy, who has taken a hard line against the Brotherhood, and jailed former military chief Gen. Sami Anan, his rival for the presidency who has strong ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. Anan, the report noted, has "promised to reopen the files of past verdicts against the Brotherhood, which he argued were politicized, in the hope of receiving their support in the upcoming election.” According to Bloomberg, "Sisi seems to believe that reconciliation with the Brotherhood is inevitable and is determined to ensure it benefits him and not a rival.”