In a few days Strongman General Mohammed Naguib would mark six months in power; Cairenes looked forward to three days of carnival and rejoicing. But in quiet corners at cocktail parties and intimate dinners of "informed circles," the whisper went: "Stick around, this thing isn't over yet. There are more fireworks to come."
They came with dramatic suddenness. A radio voice asked listeners to stand by for an important announcement. A few minutes later, Egypt resounded to Naguib's words, read by a cabinet minister: "I declare the abolition of all political parties and the confiscation of their funds . . ....