DUBAI, February 10 (RIA Novosti) – Egyptian ex-presidential candidate and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq predicted a quick collapse of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt, the Arab Dunya al-Watan website reported on Sunday.

“The Egyptians are rejecting this regime for the actions it has taken in the past seven months, and for the collapse in these actions. The regime of Muslim Brotherhood is based on the intimidation of the Egyptian people and therefore this regime is coming to its end,” Shafiq said in an interview with European media.

Shafik said President Mohhamed Mursi “will bring the country to the extreme point of political instability, economic and social degradation and will lose power as a result.”

The ex-premier said he never intended to leave Egypt for ever and promised “to return soon, despite of corruption charges officially brought against him.”

“I decided to leave because I didn’t know what to expect. If you have a sane opponent, you can predict his reaction. But if you are confronted with a madman, you don’t know how he may react.”

Shafiq, who served as prime minister under ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, narrowly lost the 2012 Egyptian presidential elections to Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mursi. He has since left Egypt and is residing in the United Arab Emirates.

Seven months into his presidency, Mursi, Egypt's first freely-elected civilian president after a revolution that ousted Mubarak two years ago, stands accused of betraying his election campaign promises by consolidating the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood and of failing to become a leader of all Egyptians.