Whenever President Hosni Mubarak actually steps down, the swirl of events in Egypt makes clear that his era – disfigured by stagnation and political degradation – is over. The army looks to be easing him off stage.
The regime’s failure to break the morale or momentum of the protesters, who burst on to the streets calling for regime change after last month’s implosion of the Tunisian dictatorship, has made the departure of Mr Mubarak inevitable.
The proliferation of strikes across Egypt, and the decision of professional organisations to join the protest as it spreads from Cairo’s Tahrir Square to the siege of parliament and state media, was building up into an epic display of rebellion after Friday prayers.