Egypt witnessed a growing socioeconomic crisis during the neoliberal restructuring in the 2000 years. Labor protests and food riots increased as the state withdrew from regulating prices and providing jobs, education and health services. Making use of an constructivist approach to historical institutionalism, I argue that parliamentary debates do not only offer a chance to reconstruct the social meaning of these developments but they also give insights into underlying norms and beliefs that still influence Egypt’s politics today. In an interpretive analysis of parliamentary minutes dealing with the transition to a free market economy between 2005 and 2010, changes can be detracted in regard to norms and their implementation by the government. Pivotal here was the role of the state and the question of trust in state authorities and political institutions. Following norm dynamics, conflict lines appear that show a growing divide within the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and cross-party alliances. In particular, norm conflicts heated up against the increasingly visible wing of businessmen within the NDP whose laisser-faire approach to economic policies as well as their identity as a political actor were highly contested. Norm diversity can be found with the Muslim Brotherhood who showed a broad range of positions towards the social question ranging from a more interventionist state, for example in the wage system, to sole criticism of the extent of social inequality, without causal explanation or reform demands. The overall picture reveals a growing legitimacy crisis concerning the government’s implementation of the belief in an active state that should create a new social balance in a free market economy. During the first two years after the fall of Mubarak, all eyes had been on the installment of a new political system even though the Egyptian economy has been in a free fall. Questions on the right economic order and the search for social justice are more important than ever and need intense political debates. The analysis of the years before the revolution can serve as a background to contemporary developments and raise the awareness for their complex normative foundations.