Defterios: Why Egypt's transition from its Arab Spring is so painful

It was January 25, 2011 -- day two of the World Economic Forum -- when the brisk winds of change from Tahrir Square swept through the Swiss Alpine village of Davos.

Just a month before, in Tunisia, a vegetable seller triggered the Arab Spring when he doused himself with petrol and lit himself on fire. He had been frustrated by a sheer lack of opportunity, despite headline economic growth that looked promising on paper.

Tunisia, with a population of just over 10 million, is one matter. Egypt is eight times larger, and 40% of its people live on less than $2 a day.

Egypt's uprising and transition after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak is a high stakes experiment in democracy under the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. The Brotherhood secured power seven months ago, installing Mohammed Morsy the country's president.

"Egypt needs to settle down. Egypt is a very major economy for this part of the world," V. Shankar, CEO of the Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas for Standard Chartered Bank told me. "It's got not only economic influence but a strong political influence, given its relationship with Israel."

Morsy's December gambit to push through a vote on the country's new constitution in the midst of daily, sometimes violent protests in Tahrir Square and surrounding the presidential palace has spooked investors.