Hazem el-Biblawi’s sudden resignation as Egypt’s prime minister didn’t only take Egypt by surprise, but apparently even some of his ministers as well, according to some reports floating around. Minister of Higher Education Hossam Eissa, for example, told Foreign Policy that he “knew about it when [Biblawi] started speaking.” In another interview, he swore he had no idea why the resignation took place.
In his brief resignation statement, Biblawi provided no rationale for the move. Instead, he spoke of how he saw that, despite the setbacks and problems plaguing the country, his government had succeeded in steering the country overall across a difficult post-Morsi phase, restored basic security and helped bring forth a new constitution. He called on people to rally around the state, focus on national interests, then ended with it with a John F. Kennedy-style, “Before anyone asks, ‘What did Egypt do for me?’ — I would say: 'What did what did I do for Egypt?'”