Saturday, February 12, 2011

Morning coffee with Hosni

This morning I had a cup of coffee in Dubai with Hosni Mubarak. I thought he still was in Sharm el-Sheik, but he had in fact made it to safety the UAE and that's were we finally get together and chatted for a while.
Go11: How does it feel now that all the pressure is over?
Hosni: Much better, we'll be able to relax, plus the weather is a bit nicer than what we had earlier in Cairo.
Go11: So, what are your plans, as you're now free to do as you please?
Hosni: You're really not paying close attention my friend; I always did what I wanted. Now, it's going to be much harder; we'll need to pay for our own food, our flat, our helicopter and plane rides; I may have to taken hang-gliding  - chuckling... It sure will be vastly different...
Go11: Are they things you'll miss in Dubai?
Hosni: Sure, and they're too many to mention; all the stuff that we didn't have time to grab at the presidential palace; my iPod with all the Frank Sinatra tunes on it, the presidential limo, the household help, our Austrian chef and a wonderful collection of Bordeaux wines!
Go11: What are you planning to do now as you're beginning a brand new phase in your life?
Hosni: I intend to hit the lecture-circuit and have already lined up speaking engagements not just all around the Persian Golf, but also in Libya, Morocco, Iran and France - yeah, Sarkozy wants to stay in power and would like to avoid some of the blunders I've made!
Go11: That sounds like a lot of work; what will you do for fun?
Hosni: When I'm done with the French president, I plan to stay two more weeks in Courchevel and learn how to snowboard. I had originally planned to do it in St. Moritz, but those paranoid Swiss regulators froze our bank accounts; they'll lose a good customer!

No comments: