Why The Egyptian Government Is Terrified By The 'Jon Stewart Of Egypt'

Robert Johnson/Business Insider Bassam Youssef. Larger than life.

Almost a year after Egypt's new president assumed office there is massive economic depression and a growing alarm among Egyptians that potential opponents offer no ideas for change.

One man though could have the power, money and the plan to prove a real threat to the Muslim Brotherhood's grip on the country.

Bassem Youssef rivets Egyptians to TV's in cafes, coffee shops, and homes once a week during his talk show, but on Saturday March 30, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Talk shows are very popular here and how many people from Muslim housewives to secular professionals, consume their news.

Youssef is a cardiothoracic surgeon who went from posting political satire on YouTube to the country's most famous and perhaps most well-paid talk show host.

He's been on CNN, ABC, and the Jon Stewart show. Youssef is known around the world for being the "Jon Stewart of Egypt " and his show called: "The Show" is immensely popular and persuasive. But Youssef is a Jon Stewart under a government that's arresting critics and one that's gauging the weight of any possible competitors to its unexpected new power.

The Muslim Brotherhood won the popular election here in June last year with 52 percent of the vote, and it has lowered the country's standard of living, it's economy, and its tolerance for opposition consistently ever since.

There are many here who believe the Muslim Brotherhood will not allow scheduled presidential elections to take place at all, and will do anything it takes to maintain their power.

People I spoke with Saturday after Youssef's arrest warrant was announced, including a police officer and the show's director, believe this is the government testing the public response should they actually put him in prison.

Youssef has the money and the ability to convey a clear message to the Egyptians on how he might solve their current economic and political crisis. That plan is notably lacking from other members of the opposition, who largely voice complaints over existing circumstances rather than offering solutions to fix them.

Youssef's show is filmed Wednesday just blocks from my hotel and the first night here the

crowds surrounding the theater were massive. On Friday, when the show was aired, I was trying to get photos made for some Egyptian press credentials and couldn't get anyone in the shop to move until the show broke for commercial.

Those commercials were for very high profile products like Pepsi and provide the CBC satellite station that airs the show immense revenue.

Through my translator we applied online for tickets to next Wednesday's taping and among the questions required to apply for one of 200 seats are:

• A Twitter handle
• Whether one believes the revolution was a success
• An opinion on the revolution
• Had the applicant joined in clashes with police or the government
• A favorite cartoon, among: Family Guy, South Park, The Simpson's, and Tom and Jerry
• A Favorite TV show, among: Friends, Seinfeld, Frasier, Two and a Half Men, and How I Met Your Mother
• And, if Youssef ran for president what would be his "logo": the scales of justice, a duck, or a green leafy vegetable called Greer

Two-hundred-and-fifty thousand people a week apply for those 200 hundred seats and I'm waiting on the director to get me in and hopefully talk to Youssef, after his visit to the courthouse today.