Morocco gets new Islamist govt after 3-month drift
After months of negotiations, Morocco's ruling Islamist party on Thursday formed a new government, ending a crisis triggered by the defection of a key ally but faced with pressing economic problems.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Morocco-gets-ne...
Prime Minister Abdelila Benkirane, leader of the moderate Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD) which shot to power in 2011 elections, will now seek to press ahead with his reform agenda.
But he has had to make major concessions to his new coalition partner, the National Rally of Independents (RNI), a party which opposed the government programme adopted last year.
The cabinet shake-up, which has been repeatedly delayed, sees Saad-Eddine El Othmani replaced as foreign minister by the RNI's leader Salaheddine Mezouar, whose agreement to join the government effectively prevented it from collapsing.
"I think the main problem facing the new administration is to agree on a government programme ... taking into account the negotiations between the PJD and the RNI," said political analyst Mohammed Tozy, who also highlighted Morocco's daunting economic challenges.
"As for the economy, key reforms are needed: to restore macro-economic balance, reform the subsidies fund and implement tax reform."
But he has had to make major concessions to his new coalition partner, the National Rally of Independents (RNI), a party which opposed the government programme adopted last year.
The cabinet shake-up, which has been repeatedly delayed, sees Saad-Eddine El Othmani replaced as foreign minister by the RNI's leader Salaheddine Mezouar, whose agreement to join the government effectively prevented it from collapsing.
"I think the main problem facing the new administration is to agree on a government programme ... taking into account the negotiations between the PJD and the RNI," said political analyst Mohammed Tozy, who also highlighted Morocco's daunting economic challenges.
"As for the economy, key reforms are needed: to restore macro-economic balance, reform the subsidies fund and implement tax reform."
Reflecting the North African country's economic woes, Morocco last year faced a budget deficit of more than 7.0 percent of GDP, while the employment rate among the country's youth is estimated at nearly 30 percent.
The reshuffle sees six women take cabinet posts, four of them from the RNI, compared with just one in the previous administration.
And a new education minister, Rachid Belmokhtar, has been appointed after the king strongly criticised the outgoing government's education policy in a speech in August.
Speaking after Thursday's ceremony, Mezouar said the cabinet was aware of the magnitude of the challenges it faces.
"The new administration will have to respond to the expectations of the people, working in particular for the benefit of the youth and fighting against social inequality," the RNI party's chief told reporters.
He said his party would seek to "strengthen the cohesion of the new government."
Morocco's ruling Islamists triumphed in parliamentary polls that followed Arab Spring protests sweeping Morocco's main cities in 2011, promising to reform the judiciary, tackle a lop-sided economy and battle widespread poverty.
The reshuffle sees six women take cabinet posts, four of them from the RNI, compared with just one in the previous administration.
And a new education minister, Rachid Belmokhtar, has been appointed after the king strongly criticised the outgoing government's education policy in a speech in August.
Speaking after Thursday's ceremony, Mezouar said the cabinet was aware of the magnitude of the challenges it faces.
"The new administration will have to respond to the expectations of the people, working in particular for the benefit of the youth and fighting against social inequality," the RNI party's chief told reporters.
He said his party would seek to "strengthen the cohesion of the new government."
Morocco's ruling Islamists triumphed in parliamentary polls that followed Arab Spring protests sweeping Morocco's main cities in 2011, promising to reform the judiciary, tackle a lop-sided economy and battle widespread poverty.
But it was left isolated after the nationalist Istiqlal Party withdrew five of its ministers in July.
Istiqlal chief Hamid Chabat, whose party led the previous ruling alliance, had increasingly accused the PJD of failing to shore up the economy and solve pressing social problems, and of monopolising decisions.
The charges echoed criticism of other Islamist movements in the region empowered by Arab Spring uprisings, notably Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, whose Mohamed Morsi was deposed as president in a military coup in July, and Tunisia's Ennahda party.
The PJD came under renewed pressure in August when the king, in his annual televised speech to the nation, said "the necessary efforts have not been made" to overcome the "many difficulties" plaguing the education sector.
Benkirane finally managed to avert fresh elections by persuading the RNI to join the coalition.
And his Islamist party, which has struggled to push through much-needed social reforms, began implementing a fuel price indexation system last month aimed at reining in Morocco's unaffordable subsidies and plugging a budget deficit.
Shortly afterwards some 5,000 people responded to a call by Chabat's Istiqlal party and marched in the capital to protest the high cost of living and denounce the PJD.
Istiqlal chief Hamid Chabat, whose party led the previous ruling alliance, had increasingly accused the PJD of failing to shore up the economy and solve pressing social problems, and of monopolising decisions.
The charges echoed criticism of other Islamist movements in the region empowered by Arab Spring uprisings, notably Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, whose Mohamed Morsi was deposed as president in a military coup in July, and Tunisia's Ennahda party.
The PJD came under renewed pressure in August when the king, in his annual televised speech to the nation, said "the necessary efforts have not been made" to overcome the "many difficulties" plaguing the education sector.
Benkirane finally managed to avert fresh elections by persuading the RNI to join the coalition.
And his Islamist party, which has struggled to push through much-needed social reforms, began implementing a fuel price indexation system last month aimed at reining in Morocco's unaffordable subsidies and plugging a budget deficit.
Shortly afterwards some 5,000 people responded to a call by Chabat's Istiqlal party and marched in the capital to protest the high cost of living and denounce the PJD.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Morocco-gets-ne...