Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president, surprised his own party as much as his opponents on Saturday when he ordered a constitutional amendment allowing multiple candidates to compete for the presidency in elections later this year.
The change once approved by parliament in coming months and put to a referendum in May, would set the scene for the first competitive presidential elections in Egypt since the overthrow of the monarchy in 1952.
It represents a dramatic turnaround for the 76-year-old president. Only last month he said opposition demands for direct presidential elections were "futile" and would invite the kind of chaos that led to the toppling of King Farouk.
Details of how candidates from officially sanctioned political parties would qualify to run remain unclear. However, Mr Mubarak's decision has been broadly welcomed by opposition politicians and diplomats as a step in the right direction that will help energise Egyptian politics after years of stagnation.
"This appears to be a step in the direction of a more open political system and we welcome it," said Steven Pike, the US State Department spokesman.
The change follows a month of conflicting signals. There have been fresh reports of widespread torture in Egyptian jails. Ayman Nour, a leading opposition MP, and other activists were detained and growing strains emerged between Washington and Mr Mubarak over the latter's painfully slow response to calls for democratic reform.
At the same time, there have been promises from the ruling National Democratic party (NDP) of changes on the way, and the regime has tolerated increasingly vocal criticism.
The amendment was a response to the changing environment in Egypt and the region, said Hassan Abu Taleb, assistant director of the Al-Ahram Centre for political and strategic studies. At the same time, by seizing the initiative Mr Mubarak has tried to reclaim ownership of the debate and "show that political life is still controlled by him".
Hisham Kassem, editor of the independent Al-Masry al-Youm newspaper, described the amendment as the boldest move Mr Mubarak has taken since he assumed power in 1981.
But there was consensus on Sunday that it was unlikely to stand in the way of his serving another six-year term. For it to provide a meaningful democratic opening it would have to be followed by other changes, members of several groups including the Muslim Brotherhood, the main Islamist movement in Egypt, said.
Mr Mubarak's rule has been characterised by obsessive caution and attention to stability. For most of it, political activity has been stifled by emergency laws used to crush militant Islamists in the 1980s and 1990s but which remain in place. The NDP controls about 85 per cent of a parliament whose function is limited by the concentration of powers in the presidency.
Mohamed Kamal, a leading member of a younger generation in the NDP, said presidential elections offered all the parties an opportunity to present ideas of what further political reforms were needed.
The Muslim Brotherhood is widely considered the most organised and well-supported opposition, although it is outlawed.
Mr Abu Taleb, of the Al-Ahram centre, said after years living with political and security restrictions none of the other political parties were in a position to present a popular alternative to Mr Mubarak.
"The opposition parties now face a dilemma. They are not ready to compete in a big event like this. This change needs to be followed by others that give them access to the media and allow them to mobilise support and [that] change the mentality of the state security services."
