Another big question is who would succeed him as head of the Arab world’s most populous nation, an American ally that plays a critical role in issues ranging from Mideast peace efforts to curbing Islamic militancy.
Those most often cited are his son, Gamal Mubarak, and his intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman. But because Mubarak has no vice president, even the mechanism of succession is unclear, leaving the choice to backroom machinations among the ruling party, the security services, and billionaire businessmen.
To look tired and need help on the stairs may not sound unusual for an 81-year-old, but the problem for Egyptians is that they are given no official information at all about their leader’s health.
Merely to speculate on it can be hazardous, as editor Ibrahim Eissa discovered when his tabloid daily, Al-Dustour, claimed in 2007 that Mubarak was ill. He was convicted of libel and sentenced to six months in prison. A court cut the sentence to two months, and Mubarak pardoned Eissa after he was freed.
Still, some Egyptians are willing to guess out loud.
“His health has deteriorated seriously; his exact condition, no one knows,’’ said Hisham Kassem, founder of Al-Masry Al-Youm, a leading independent newspaper.
In mid-July, several independent papers ran a front-page photo of Mubarak being helped up the stairs in Italy during the G-8 summit. State newspapers didn’t print the picture. Later in July, Mubarak appeared tired while addressing a Non-Aligned Summit at an Egyptian resort.
When Obama visited in June, Mubarak didn’t greet him at the airport or sit in on his speech to the Muslim world at Cairo University. When they finally did meet, Egyptians were quick to spot the contrast.
“He looked so old when Obama stood next to him,’’ said Ahmad Morsi Ahmad, a tax collector in his late 60s, talking with friends at a Cairo coffee shop.
If Mubarak seems less lively than usual, it may be the effect of losing his 12-year-old grandson to an undisclosed illness in May. Many diplomats and Egyptian political observers believe Mubarak’s health took a downturn.
