.....[T[he longer it takes for real change — new leaders, a new economic order — to occur, the greater the chance of disappointment, discontent and even counterrevolution: Nobody ever joins a street uprising to resume business as usual. .....Egypt and Tunisia should try to hold elections as quickly as possible, although many of the democratic forces in both countries would like to delay. They want the nascent parties to have more time to establish themselves, they want the electoral laws to be carefully written, they want everyone to have more time to argue. But an imperfect legislature is better than none: Poland’s first post-Communist parliament in 1989 was only partially freely elected, and it even contained members of the old regime. The government it produced was also a compromise, and it too contained members of the old regime. Nevertheless, it looked, acted and felt radically different, and quickly earned its legitimacy. Talk, debate, argument, conversation: Now that they have those things, Egyptians and Tunisians won’t easily give them away. But they must lead somewhere, soon, or many will begin to question where they are leading.