CAIRO - Egypt's incoming Cabinet will have few Islamists and some holdovers from the outgoing military-backed team in key positions, according to a partial list released by state media Wednesday, a day before the first government under the country's new Islamist president is sworn in.
The choices by President Mohammed Morsi's prime minister, Hesham Kandil, are seen as a test of the intentions of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.
Egypt's official news media listed more than 20 ministers in the new Cabinet, so far including only two members from the Brotherhood - an apparent attempt to calm concerns over the group's intention to dominate the government.
The Brotherhood appointees will hold the higher education and the housing ministries.
Highlighting the difficulties of forming a government with broad appeal, Kandil took more than a week to nominate his ministers. The government must also work through a power struggle between the newly elected president and the military council, which ruled Egypt during 17 months of transition.
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The military council, headed by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, took over power after longtime President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
Just before Morsi was declared winner, the military council issued a constitutional amendment which undercut much of the president's authority, gave the military the right to approve the budget and retain legislative powers. The first elected parliament had been dissolved through a court order days before.
Key ministers of information, justice and culture are yet to be named, highlighting the tough negotiations over the posts. The defense minister is expected to be named by the military.
Kandil and Morsi's first government face daunting challenges, the first of which is presenting a coalition government that moves to heal deep divisions in the country following the election in June of the Islamist Morsi as Egypt's first civilian president.
Morsi had promised an inclusive government, but an alliance of pro-democracy advocates criticized him for choosing a prime minister with few known accomplishments, while alienating political groups with liberal leanings.
The new lineup is likely to face criticism from the youth and protest groups that led the uprising against Mubarak, because it includes none of their representatives, and in many cases it promotes mid-level ministry officials from the old regime to the top jobs.
