A crack in the wall

Egypt is opening the door to greater democracy, by allowing multiple candidates to stand for the Presidency. Previously, presidential elections were a Saddam-style up/down vote on a candidate chosen by Parliament (with "undesirable" candidates eliminate from the running - sometimes literally). The reform has been compared to "a crack in the wall" to relieve pressure for change, but I am hoping that its the crack that leads to the whole wall collapsing - and hopefuly, Egyptian authoritarianism will drown in the flood.