Egypt's new government is in for a test. The standoff between a section of the vernacular Press and the presidency is reshaping into something big.

The gathering of hundreds and thousands of people at the Tahrir Square is testimony to the fact that the evolution is far from complete, and the revolutionary zeal is still on. The good point, however, is that President Muhammad Mursi has thought it appropriate to enact a piece of legislation that would not only guarantee freedom of media and free speech, but also take the steam out of the current crisis. The first of its kind ever in Egypt, the law bans pre-trial detention of journalists and provides them with a fair environment to defend themselves in the court of law. The dispute at hand is an editorial that criticised the Muslim Brotherhood government’s way of doing things and blamed it for allegedly plotting to create an emirate of its own beliefs. The editor, Islam Afifi — also a television host, who has been booked under relevant laws — went to the extent of calling upon the people to join the military’s fight against Islamism.

This is too much, to say the least. Irrespective of the fact whether the authorities concerned had jumped the gun or not in detaining the editor concerned, the point is that Afifi too had trespassed his domain. Though criticism is understandable, it has to be substantiated and qualified. Furthering a vested agenda by misusing a professional medium for personal and political interests is irksome and unwarranted. The section of Press that feels and believes strongly against the newly elected dispensation has no other choice but to put on a brave face and convey its understanding of the issue in a polite and amicable manner. An independent Press that forms one of the cornerstones of a vibrant democracy has to be, indeed, responsible enough.

Egypt is far from settled to have time to deal with issues that are superficial or perceptional in content. This is the time for the intelligentsia, media, academia and elected representatives to strive against poverty, terrorism and parochialism. There is hardly any room for personalised vendetta.