A SWATHE of undecided Syrians in the middle ground are being wooed both by protesters who want to bring President Bashar Assad down and by purported reformers in the regime who want to prop him up. On June 20th Mr Assad made a bid for support with his third public speech since the crisis started three months ago, his first in two months. It was not a success. The protests-and the deaths-show no sign of letting up. Mr Assad acknowledged that some of the protesters were peaceful, offered a "national dialogue", promised yet again to enact reforms and talked of "making an amnesty more comprehensive". But he also made a string of fanciful claims that alienated sceptics all the more. He said he cherished "the love...of those who represent most of Syria's people." The unrest, he said, was the result of a conspiracy carried out by criminals and extremists that was spreading like a "germ".
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