Among the thousands of candidates in the final round of Egypt's parliamentary elections Tuesday, Tawfiq Okasha, a nationalist talk-show

host, has done more than most to define the public debate over the military's political role. The Islamists who have dominated the first two rounds of Egypt's first postrevolutionary parliamentary elections look set for a large lead in the third. Final results will be declared after runoff elections next week before the new legislature faces the task of nominating an assembly to draft a new constitution. Mr. Okasha's success or failure against the popular Islamist parties, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, will offer an early indication of whether Egypt's silent majority puts its loyalty behind the military Mr. Okasha champions or the Islamist politicians who promise an alternative to military-backed autocracy. The Islamists' looming legislative majority sets the stage for a possible confrontation with an interim military leadership that has guarded its control over the constitution-drafting process. Mr. Okasha's millions of viewers hear him accuse antimilitary activists and liberal politicians of working in the thrall of Zionists and Freemasonsa global institution he says hopes to take over Egypt for no other reason than its talisman quality as the oldest country in the world. "One of the ideas in Freemason belief is that Egypt will be the second capital," he said in an interview.

"Egypt would be the center of governing while the U.S. will be the center of the army." Perhaps more than any other media personality in Egypt, Mr. Okasha's divisive diatribes defending the military and slamming antimilitary protesters have given a voice to Egyptians with little education who have seen few benefits from their country's political opening and feel alienated by a complex political discourse. Mr. Okasha's show, "Egypt Today," on his Al Faraeen, or "The Pharoahs" satellite channel, show offers a traditional vision of Egyptian strength that has been lost in the political turmoil. "One of the aims of introducing this channel was to revitalize the idea of nationalism amongst Arabs," Mr. Okasha said. In Mr. Okasha's shows, delivered in his signature countryside patois that contrasts sharply with the formal Arabic spoken by other Egyptian TV hosts, viewers find an appealing and digestible version of complex events. He absolves the interim ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces, or SCAF, of any guilt for the violence and economic stagnation that have persisted since the revolution while echoing the military's claims that blame a nebulous foreign-born conspiracy for seeking to destroy Egypt. Mr. Okasha displays an earthy appeal on air, dropping bits of knowledge about small villages and arcane countryside customs that fly below the radars of Cairo's political class.

In contrast to the Muslim Brotherhood and hard-line Salafi candidates who have captured broad parliamentary support, Mr. Okasha considers himself a liberal nationalist. He advocates a nonreligious state grounded in conservative Egyptian values. He draws his popular appeal from his unyielding defense of the Egyptian citizen and Egyptian nationhood, with the military as its protector. "There's something about the Egyptian army that Americans need to know," he said. "Most scientific studies and theories proved that the Egyptian soldier is the most capable, most enduring and the fastest soldier in the world." Despite such unprovable claimsor perhaps because of themMr. Okasha's star is rising. After several years as a reporter for state-run television, he launched his Al Faraeen channel in June 2009 with a 12 million Egyptian pound (nearly $2 million at today's rate) gift from his family of wealthy Nile Delta landowners. Both Mr. Okasha and his critics say that it was only after the revolution that he hit his stride. Since protesters felled former President Hosni Mubarak in February, Mr. Okasha has called at least three Friday rallies to support the interim military leaders, drawing thousands of military backers. Mr. Mubarak and his two sons were back in court on Tuesday facing capital murder charges for suspicions that he ordered police to fire on protesters during the revolution last year.

Mr. Okasha's positions are undoubtedly useful to an interim military leadership that has sought to extend its influence past the transition to civilian rule. The ruling generals have asked politicians to sign a pledge that would exclude the military's budget and operations from civilian oversight in the upcoming constitution. Various SCAF generals have stated that they, not the incoming Islamist-dominated Parliament, will have full control over the constitution-drafting process, eliciting howls of protests from liberal and Islamist parties alike. While Mr. Okasha's show rarely dwells on political details, some antimilitary activists worry he could rally wide support to keep the military's privileged position when the draft constitution is put to a referendum this year. In their attempts to discredit Mr. Okasha, the liberal activists rely on conspiracy theories of their own. The high cost of running a satellite channel has aroused suspicions among many activist youths that the army is secretly bankrolling Mr. Okasha's showa charge he denies. As evidence of official support, some activists point to a leaked memo from the Egyptian Air Force that purportedly encouraged airmen to watch Al Faraeen's nationalistic programming. The military has denied the memo's veracity. Even as Mr. Okasha's liberal opponents contend that his influence is limited to only the least influential Egyptians, many consider him a dangerous instigator.

Liberals are "acting the same way they've acted when he first showed up. They'resaying 'who watches this idiot?' " said Mahmoud Salem, a prominent Egyptian blogger and youth activist. "But you know something? Every idiot has an audience." In the interview last week in his walled-off second home in the Nile Delta village of Talkha, Mr. Okasha greeted his foreign guests while wearing a traditional Egyptian robe, or gallabeya. Even his slippers were identical to those worn by the Pharoanic-era Egyptians, he says, pointing again to a grand legacy he repeatedly invokes as proof of the Egyptian people's inherited greatness. For many of Mr. Okasha's fans and supporters of the military, Egypt's judiciary seemed to realize these claims when they raided the offices of 10 nongovernmental organizations last week, including three U.S.-based groups, on suspicion that they were receiving illegal foreign funds. For Mr. Okasha, who has long railed against such groups, the unstated goal of the raids was clear: American-funded organizations are seeking to undermine Egypt. "Freedom House gave money to these protesters," he said in the interview, two days before prosecutors and military forces raided the U.S.-based Freedom House's Cairo offices. "The Americans are a respectful culture and we want them to stop giving money to the protesters.