Still, Egyptian analysts and diplomats see problems ahead.

Some Egyptian analysts, moreover, depict the trend as the coming thrust of Arab politics.

The exclusion of the left is rather unsettling for Egyptian political analysts.

Egyptian analysts were divided over the degree to which American pressure played a role in introducing the change.

What that means," said a senior Egyptian analyst in Cairo, "is that Saddam is associated with the more moderate Palestinians.

Some independents, Egyptian analysts said, were Government supporters running outside the party slate, so Parliament might end up with less opposition than it had before.

Wahid Abdel Meguid is an Egyptian political analyst and MP.

The Islamic sector put as much as $6 million into the Brotherhood's electoral campaign, Egyptian analysts said.

Egyptian analysts say any of Gamal Mubarak's reforms would face heavy resistance from party officials worried about losing their ministerial fiefs.

"I wouldn't speak of grief," said Muhammad Sayed Said, an Egyptian political analyst.