Passing thought

In an interview with ABC reporter Christiane Amanpour, Hosni Murbarak was quoted as saying "I am fed up. After 62 years in public service, I have had enough. I want to go" before adding that he couldn't because "If I resign today, there will be chaos."

Beyond the extraordinary self-pity there, I can't be the only one who thought "Après moi, le déluge."

The quote, attributed to both Louis XV and his paramour Madame de Pompadour, has been understood a couple of ways but it always seemed to me to say, as Mubarak clearly did, "I'm all that stands between you and chaos."

And as a passing thought on the passing thought, if Mubarak quit, what would be immediately left behind? A vice-president and a new cabinet, all of which he hand-picked. It seems he doesn't have much faith in his own people.