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This article analyzes the authoritarian restoration through political leadership in Egypt. We focus on the presidential election of 2014 and, more broadly, on the history of Egyptian political leadership making. Our motivation for focusing on the 2014 election is twofold. On the one hand, it is considered by all the commentators as a paradigmatic illustration of the ancient regime restoration. On the other hand, it is a key moment in any leadership building: the one during which it is disputed, elucidated, put into narrative, and also assigned. Our point of view introduces complexity in the analysis of authoritarian restoration: we argue that, contrary to what might be thought at first glance, this restoration is not a mere return to the previous leadership recipes.