Sayed El-Badawi (leader of the Wafd, Egypt's oldest liberal party) — symposium speech (per Al-Bawaba News, 2 Apr 2026): the "loyal opposition" stance — "the Wafd is a liberal party that believes in economic freedom, and when we find the state moving… on a path that achieves the public good, then we support that"; and that development needs an independent judiciary and a free press.

الوفد حزب ليبرالي يؤمن بالحرية الاقتصادية، وعندما نجد الدولة تسير من وجهة نظرنا في خط يحقق الصالح العام وقتها نكون مؤيدين لهذا الحق

التنمية والإصلاح السياسي وجهان لعملة واحدة؛ فلكي تحدث التنمية لا بد من أن يكون لديك مؤسسات ماليه قويه وقضاء مستقل وإعلام حر

[Source is Arabic (Al-Bawaba News, an Egyptian outlet, reporting his speech at a symposium on state-owned companies; the first quote shifts into his first-person voice — "when WE find… WE support"); tier-2, confirmed verbatim against the fetched page. English: (1) "The Wafd is a liberal party that believes in economic freedom, and when we find the state moving — in our view — on a path that achieves the public good, then we are supporters of that." (2) "Development and political reform are two sides of one coin; for development to happen you must have strong financial institutions, an independent judiciary, and a free press."] Declared positions of Sayed El-Badawi (b. 1950) — Egyptian businessman, media owner, and leader of the WAFD, Egypt's oldest and historically pre-eminent LIBERAL-nationalist party (founded 1919); he led it 2010–2018 and returned to its presidency in 2025–2026. The Wafd exemplifies Egypt's "LOYAL OPPOSITION": a nominally liberal party operating within, and largely supporting, the Sisi-era state. His positions: economic LIBERALISM (private-sector-led growth; the state as regulator not investor — he called the state "a failed manager and a failed investor" that should prevent monopoly and provide a social safety net), CONDITIONAL SUPPORT for the government (the Wafd backs the state when it "achieves the public good" / pursues serious economic reform), and political reform tied to development (an independent judiciary and free press as prerequisites for investment and growth). This is the EGYPTIAN LIBERAL-ESTABLISHMENT / "LOYAL OPPOSITION" PARTY pole — pro-market, pro-stability, reform-from-within liberalism that cooperates with the regime rather than confronting it, distinct from both the silenced dissidents (Alaa Abd El-Fattah, Patrick Zaki) and the Islamists. [Axes: economic (economic liberalism; private-sector-led growth; state as regulator; against state crowding-out; social safety net), democracy / governance (gradual reform-from-within; independent judiciary; free press; conditional cooperation with the regime rather than opposition), regime-stance (loyal opposition; supports the state when it serves "the public good").]