ElBaradei welcomes the end of overt military rule, but warns that too much power now resided with the president

The Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, appeared to have strengthened his position on Monday as the military and senior political figures in the country signalled their acceptance of his dramatic weekend move to remove senior generals from office and take back executive powers.

Egypt's official news agency quoted an unnamed military official as saying there had been no "negative reaction" from within the military. A day after the orders, no unusual military movements were detected across the nation.

The Nobel laureate and one-time potential presidential candidate, Mohmaed ElBaradei in a tweet welcomed the end of overt military rule, but warned that too much power now resided with the president.

ElBaradei called for further reformation of the Constituent Assembly, which has been working on drafting Egypt's new constitution and to grant it legislative powers until a new parliament is elected.

The Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi said his decision to remove the military's two senior commanders was not personal but in the interests of the nation.

In a televised address on Sunday, Morsi said his actions "were not aimed at certain people" and had not been intended to embarrass any state institutions, but rather "to ensure that we move towards a better future with a new generation and long-awaited new blood".

Morsi, who was the Muslim Brotherhood candidate for president, retired the military chief, Hussein Tantawi, the chief of staff, Sami Anan, and others in the upper echelons of the army, to be replaced by younger members of the supreme council of the armed forces (Scaf). Tantawi's replacement, Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi, was formerly the head of military intelligence.

The president lauded the armed forces' role in protecting the nation. "I did not want to send negative messages about anyone, but my goal was to serve this nation and its people," he said. "We're aiming for stability, security and national revival. We're moving towards a better future."

Morsi also appointed a vice-president, the senior judge Mahmoud Mekki, and annulled the military-issued constitutional declaration that gave the generals legislative and some executive powers previously reserved for the president and parliament.

Earlier this month 16 border guards were killed at a police station in the Sinai peninsula as they sat to break their Ramadan fast. The attacks had already led to the removal of the head of general intelligence, Mourad Mowafi, as well as other senior military and police commanders.

Many Egyptians feel that Morsi needs to tackle more practical matters, such as the power cuts that have hit the country during the summer. Morsi said in his speech: "We are aware of all the problems occurring in the country, and everything that the people are going through."

But he stressed: "Now we must push for production and investment. We have no doubt our dreams will be realised." He said security forces would not tolerate protesters who blocked roads or committed any other actions that would impact productivity.

A posting on Monday on a Facebook page known to be close to the country's former military rulers said the changes amounted to the "natural" handing over of leadership to a younger generation.

It added: "The armed forces is a prestigious institution with a doctrine of full discipline and commitment to legitimacy."

The muted reaction led most observers to conclude that Morsi appeared to have consolidated his power after a month and half when it seemed that there were two distinct powers in Egypt, the military and the presidency.

"Egypt's strategic partners were certainly concerned about the duality of power in Egypt, so there had to be a consolidation of power within one institution and normally it had to be the elected one," said the chief editor of the Egypt Independent, Lina Attalah. "I imagine the move was well supported if not blessed by strategic partners because it has been so messy in Egypt amidst two contesting powers and what happened in Sinai served as an index for this state failure."

Morsi replaced Tantawi with the head of military intelligence, Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi.

Sameh El-Essawi of the Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice party, said: "El-Sissi spent a year of training in the US and has good relations with them, as well as contacts with Israel, he is not an unknown, and this is not a coup. These people (Tantawi and the other retired generals) have loyalty to Egypt but there is also an issue with political loyalty, and this affected how they ran the country." El-Sissi was also the Scaf general who admitted to Amnesty International that virginity tests against female protesters detained by the army had taken place, defending it as a move to protect the army from allegations of rape.

Until Morsi's surprise move it seemed that the military had the upper hand in the power struggle due to its influence on the Egyptian judiciary.

"The Morsi move is well calculated in that it's not a hard coup against the military nor an attempt to end the military legacy in Egypt," Attalah said, "It's the replacement of a critical rank, the kind of personnel who are in charge of critical elements in the military such as weaponry and intelligence. It's a very tactical move."

But Attalah added Morsi will now face "strong judicial opposition" and "needs judicial figures on his team".