Morocco’s King Mohammed VI awarded the foreign and justice ministries Tuesday to the moderate Islamist party that won a November election but reserved the domestic security portfolio for a veteran conservative close to the monarch. Abdelilah Benkirane, leader of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), will head up Morocco’s first Islamist-led coalition government after his party won 27 percent of parliamentary seats in theNovember 25 vote. The King brought forward the election by nearly a year in an effort to pre-empt a popular revolt similar to ones that have rocked the Arab world, toppling four longtime ruling autocrats. King Mohammed VI hopes fresh faces at the top of government, and at least the appearance of change, will deflate popular pressure for a more revolutionary transformation inspired by the Arab uprisings. Morocco may have sidestepped upheaval for now but the new cabinet will need to act quickly to tackle seeds of unrest, including youth unemployment at 31 percent, wide disparities in wealth and patchy access to basic amenities.
Politics
Yahoo (01/04) – Moroccan king names Islamist-led cabinet
Gulf Times (01/04) – Morocco Cabinet Unveiled
Associated Press (01/03) – Moroccan king unveils Islamist-led government
The Washington Post (01/03) – Morocco’s king accepts new Islamist-led government with many palace allies as ministers
Huffington Post (01/03) – Morocco: Islamist Justice And Development Party Leads Government
News 24 (01/03) – Morocco gets new Islamist-led Movement
Al Arabiya (01/03) – Moroccan king appoints new cabinet led by moderate Islamists
The Star (01/03) – Morocco gets new Islamist-led government
Middle East Online (01/03) – Moroccan king appoints new Islamist-led government
China Daily (01/03) – Moroccan king appoints new government
Boston.com (01/03) – Morocco king keeps checks on new Islamist govt
All Voices (01/03) – Morocco: King Mohammed VI announces the composition of the new government
Morocco News Agency (01/03) – Democracy In Morocco – New Government To Implement Reforms
M&C (01/03) – Morocco’s first Islamist premier presents his cabinet
Xinhuanet (01/03) – Moroccan king appoints new government
Maghreb Panorama (01/03) – Moroccan Government Announced
Yacout (01/03) – HM King Mohammed VI Appoints New Government
Economy/Business
Forbes (01/03) – American Eagle Riding Arab Spring To $18 Stock Price
Global Arab Network (01/03) – Investment in hotels boosts tourism sector in Morocco
Upenn (01/03) – The Unexpected Early Winners of the Arab Spring
Society/Culture
Alakhbar (01/04) – Morocco 2011: Boldness, Nudity, and Censorship
World/MENA Region
Bloomberg (01/04) – Arab League Falters in Syria as Options to Halt Deadly Crackdown Dwindle
Clean Technica (01/04) – Big Solar and Big Wind to Meet in Abu Dhabi for World Future Energy Summit
CBN (01/03) – Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Says Caliphate is Near
Right Side News (01/03) – The Year We Lost Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia and Most of the Middle East
Power Engineering (01/02) – How to develop renewable energy
