in 2007 he criticized the state of politics, calling the regime illegitimate, and saying that egypt is "a suffering society with no way to express itself." he speculated that poverty in cairo could lead to a violent confrontation with the police. abbas envisioned a charismatic opposition leader who could rise up amidst the tension, but he did not believe such an individual would be part of the labor movement. he said, "those who think the labor movement will lead to political change in egypt are foolish. the movement is still too young. we have to be concerned with the economic conditions of the workers. we can't rush things."