When asked about the post that he dreamt about but never obtained, Moroccan Counselor, Ahmed Reda Guedira – the man who had earned the trust of Late King Hassan II and was the companion of his distant trips away from the limelight – said that it was the post of the prime minister.
In fact, the lawyer who prided himself in practicing politics by writing the editorials of several newspapers close to the palace, had been appointed to every important ministerial portfolio from the ministry of interior to agriculture to foreign affairs and education. He also went through the royal court and finally settled in the post of a counselor who can have access to the political leaders, as well as the Algerian Authority and the European and American decision makers. Yet, he was unable to grab the prime ministry when the latter could be grabbed by the technocratic or pro-government forces that are not backed up by parties or political supporters.
The powerful counselor failed to form a political party, but he did deal with a wide range of internal and external politics. His partisan opponents – during the days he was minister of interior and when he gathered the remnants of the pro-government forces under the “front for defending the constitutional institutions” – turned into interviewers knocking on the door of his office with no embarrassment or backgrounds. The man forgot about his enmities and became a man of state par excellence.
However, the politician who was forced out of the power square by circumstantial differences when he had to resign from ministerial posts in the sixties, did find the right opportunity to surface up back on the backdrop of the two failed coup attempts against the regime of Al-Hassan II in 1971 and 1972.
Back then, Lawyer Guedira opted for sending political messages from the military court in Kenitra. During his noteworthy pleadings, he said that the source of the coups and adventures that had been carried out by the military consisted of the political void and the persistence of the emergency state since 1965. Many could not understand how is it that the road companion of Hassan II was supporting officers who tried to kill him; and some of his political adversaries picked up the signs while some others underestimated their significance.
Before the end of 1972, the late king had already come up with a new constitution and subjected it to a referendum. He was thus making the wisest step on the road of a political openness that required more than two decades. After that, the counselor went back to the shadow, on the day when Al-Hassan II found out that he had used his partisan tendency more than his consultative responsibilities. His name remained connected to the conflicts of the enemy-brothers on the political ring and the backstage of the parties. He failed when failure was not inevitable and he succeeded in taking control of regional, Arab, and international files. He was lucky enough to achieve that success, because he kept on defending modern principles.
Only coincidence or approach led to the fact that another man from another era walked in the path of Counselor Guedira. It is the former Delegate Minister of Interior, Fouad Ali el-Himma, who got appointed by Moroccan Monarch Mohammed VI as a counselor at the royal court. Ali el-Himma is credited for having forged the vision of the young king concerning reconciling with the past major violations of Human Rights. However, his eagerness at taking part in partisan battles during the phase of the democratic tide was not a necessary matter. At least, he could have turned this into an intellectual debate resulting in viable movements.
The post does have its significance, and the industry of parties’ making is not a new trend in Morocco. Indeed, Al-Hassan II – who had once said that he could not accept the idea of a political party invading the electoral scene, unless at least a year elapses on the establishment of this party – had himself overlooked this industry, which “thrived” during the phase of pressure against the parties. Perhaps the reason why he dwelled on pondering the Moroccan scene is that the reconciliation that he struck with the opposition factions during the nineties had led to a historic agreement. This agreement spared the country from proceeding in the wrong direction.
The sign – which was picked up by his successor King Mohammed VI as he reached the second decade of his rule – is sufficient to conclude that the roar of democracy in the voting ballots is much better than the silence that suppresses the souls and the places. He was perhaps the only one who was not surprised by the results of the legislative voting for the simple reason that, during his tours, he stopped at every remote village where he witnessed the suffering and the pain of the people.
Morocco now has a new constitution. Through the charter of this constitution, the country is sailing under a cloudy sky. The roles have been distributed between a Street expressing its aspirations and a Palace listening to the pulse of the Street. As the Street is arranging its cards, the royal court is opening up to new elites; and this is not a coincidence. A man might have to forget some of what he had learned unless he wants to unravel the mysteries of some mathematical or political equation.
