Reviled by the Muslim Brotherhood and praised by Egyptians who believe their turbulent nation needs a strong hand, Army Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is reportedly planning on a new job once the nation is returned to democracy – President.

Egyptian media are reporting the general has made up his mind and will be a candidate for president in an election that could happen as soon as April.  His face has appeared on posters and chocolates, he is lionized by the media and songs have been dedicated to him and the army.

There’s no doubt that al-Sisi would win – the Muslim Brotherhood of deposed president Mohammed Morsi is outlawed as a terrorist organization and there is no popular Leftist willing to take on the general.  And the Nour Party, an ultra-orthodox Islamist group that came second to the Brotherhood in 2011 parliamentary elections, has said it will not run a candidate for the presidency.

Al-Sisi led the military to overthrow Morsi after millions of protesters hit the streets of Cairo and other cities asking for the military to intervene.  Morsi was Egypt’s first democratically elected leader, but quickly lost mass support as he enacted socially restrictive policies his conservative religious base favored.