For a country where over-the-top venality characterised politics for decades, Egypt's first ever presidential candidates' debate on Saturday was a sedate and courteous occasion.
So polite, in fact, that some of the hopefuls had forced the organisers to scrap the debate format and allow each candidate to answer prepared questions without having to face an opponent in the room.
Still, the event at a Cairo hotel, aired live on television, was the closest Egypt had ever come to seeing an intellectual contest between men -- the one woman candidate, Boithana Kamel, did not attend -- who want to rule the country.
It's not enough, mind you. But it is a start.
