Political turmoil in Egypt

There was a certain amount of sympathy for the Axis cause in Egypt. Gamel Abdel Nasser was apparently one of those Axis sympathizers. They were able to stir up a certain amount of resentment against the British occupation. There was an economic crisis that ended with the British buying the cotton crop for 1941, as farmers had greatly over-produced. The British had done the same thing in 1940. The Wafd party were anti-British, and were able to bring down the government in early 1942. They pressured King Farouk to appoint Nahas Pasha as Prime Minister. The King was very young. He only turned 22 on 11 February 1942. Fortunately, Nahas Pasha then pledged his support for the British, in a turn-around, and was able to stop the open anti-British activities. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Official History.