Candidates to Fill Cairo's Leadership Vacuum

WHEN asked why he refused to parcel out any real power to his ministers, Nasser once replied: "Show me ten men I can trust and I'll start delegating authority." Apparently he never found them. Before his death, Nasser refused to groom a political heir. The resulting vacuum in leadership could lead to chaos, to a collective leadership or even to a sudden coup d'etat executed by a young unknown, just as happened 18 years ago.

For the short term, however, there are three present or former Nasser lieutenants who are mentioned most often as successors. To gain the presidency, one of them must be nominated by two-thirds of the 350-member National Assembly and confirmed by popular vote.

A Crowded Field. Perhaps the most obvious possibility is Anwar Sadat, 52, who as Vice President became interim head of state upon Nasser's death. Of the original 14-member revolutionary team that overthrew King Farouk, only two men still hold political posts, and Sadat is one of them. Completely loyal to Nasser, he took on a long succession of foreign and domestic jobs, including the speakership of the National Assembly. Colorless except for his frequent anti-Western snipes, Sadat has never attempted to cultivate a following of his own. Thus his election might temporarily satisfy more serious contenders.

If there is a "Russian candidate," it is Ali Sabry, 52, onetime Secretary General of Nasser's Arab Socialist Union (A.S.U.) and "honorary general" in charge of Egypt's Russian-built air-defense system. Sabry is a former Minister of Presidential Affairs, ex-Prime Minister and Egypt's chief liaison with the Soviet Union. The Soviets insisted that Sabry accompany Nasser to Moscow in July. They would clearly like to continue the relationship, which helps make Sabry the most powerful man in Egypt today. But he is far from being the most popular, especially among the military.

Sabry's political opposite is Zakaria Mohieddin, 52, former intelligence chief and a member of the original 14-man cabal that overthrew the monarchy. Mohieddin is an intellectual and Egypt Firster who favors a settlement with Israel and development of friendlier relations with the West; as a result, coffeehouse chatter brands him, unjustly but damningly, as "the C.I.A. candidate." When Nasser offered his calculated resignation following the Six-Day War, he named Mohieddin, then one of Egypt's three Vice Presidents, as his successor. Nasser quickly resumed his post and a year later, after a fallout over economic policy, Mohieddin went into premature retirement. He is considered a long shot, but he has the backing of a small group of influential moderates, possibly including Mohammed Hassanein Heikal, Guidance Minister and editor of Al Ahram. After Nasser's funeral, Heikal's paper printed a story--later proved untrue--that Mohieddin's main rivals, Sadat and Sabry, had suffered heart attacks during the ceremony.

Other candidates in a crowded field:

> Hussein Shafei, 52, No. 3 man in the A.S.U. and the only active politician besides Sadat among Nasser's original 14 officers. Like the interim president, the mild-spoken Shafei would probably try to govern as though Nasser were still alive.

> Sami Sharaf, 43, longtime head of the President's information office, who is thought by some to have been Nasser's most trusted adviser at the time of his death.

> Mahmoud Fawzi, 70, ex-Foreign Minister and Nasser's chief adviser on foreign affairs. A diplomat under King Farouk, the scholarly Fawzi was one of the Nasser regime's few links with Egypt's past. He is not to be confused with Lieut. General Mohammed Fawzi, 52, Egypt's blunt War Minister, who has all but declared himself out of the succession.

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