The dramatic exposure of Egypt's vulnerability to Islamist militant violence has intensified pressure for a radical review of both security measures and the character of future economic reform. President Hosni Mubarak yesterday publicly berated Mr Hassan al-Alfi, the Interior Minister responsible for security and the architect of the government's hardline policy towards militant organisations, for the catastrophic security lapse which left one of Egypt's most popular tourist sites unprotected and 57 foreign tourists dead.
During a tour of the massacre site near Luxor yesterday Mr Mubarak turned to Mr al-Alfi, who subsequently resigned, and told him: "You have failed. You don't move. You only stay in Cairo."
The government remains intent upon pursuing its security-centred policy towards the Islamist militants rather than opening political dialogue.
"The scale of the slaughter is totally incommensurate with the size of the Islamist organisations, and the issues involved are no longer questions of economics or religion," a senior government minister said yesterday. "It is purely a security issue, and we have taken care of it by cutting the head off the snake. But the tail is still wiggling."
Even so, the militants' ability to have a devastating impact despite being a tiny minority lies at the heart of the government's vulnerability.
The failure fully to counter the security threat has heightened the importance of economic reform intended ultimately to raise living standards and undermine the militants' constituency.
Five months ago jailed members of the organisation called for a unilateral truce in the five-year conflict with the government. However, its exiled supporters rejected the truce call.
The organisation said gunmen had intended to take foreign tourists as hostages who would be freed in return for release of Omar Abdel Rahman, the militants' spiritual leader serving life in the US.
"The exiled leaders don't agree with the truce, mainly because the government hasn't done anything positive since was called," said Mr Yassir al-Sirri, a London-based Egyptian exile.