Potential cabinet reshuffle in Morocco

There are growing prospects for a cabinet reshuffle following the appointment of a new secretary-general to run the Istiqlal party.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat

[AFP/Abdelhak Senna] Newly chosen Istiqlal leader and Fez Mayor Hamid Chabat is seeking a cabinet shakeup.
The September 23rd election of Hamid Chabat to lead Morocco’s Istiqlal party, one of four parties in the governing coalition, could have knock-on effects for the government.

The mayor of Fez, who managed to wrest the leadership of Morocco’s oldest political party from the El Fassi family, has promised to bring in a new style of governance. He announced his intention to demand a cabinet reshuffle for ministers from his party.

Since the cabinet was named earlier this year, there has been much dissatisfaction among Istiqlal party activists, who do not recognise the ministers chosen to represent their party. M’hammed El Khalifa, one of Istiqlal’s leading lights, claimed that people such Energy Minister Fouad Douiri do not belong to the party.

Chabat was also one of the unhappy ones. The new secretary-general said a cabinet reshuffle can only be a good thing, especially if it brings women into the government. The performance of Istiqlal ministers has been mediocre up to now, and yet they need to answer to party campaigners and engage more with the electorate, Chabat added.

Former Istiqlal Secretary-General and previous Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi was accused by some of favouring his family when appointing ministers. Critics said he co-opted his son-in-law Nizar Baraka into the government for a second time as economy minister, along with his brother-in-law Mohamed El Ouafa, who is currently the national education minister.

But Chabat has said that Istiqlal is now moving away from revolving around a particular family and evolving into a political institution ruled by internal democracy, particularly when appointing officials.

A new phase has begun, not just for the party but also for the governing coalition, according to political analyst Hamza El Menouer. He noted the new secretary-general of the “balance party” is also the head of the party’s trade union arm, the Moroccan General Workers’ Union.

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Chabat is no shrinking violet and will not hesitate to discomfit the government majority with some of his trenchant views, El Menouer added. As for the cabinet reshuffle, the analyst said that the final decision would be up to the king

“Technically, Chabat can put his demand to Abdelilah Benkirane, the head of the government, to be passed on to the King,” he said, stressing that Chabat has the daring to follow through on his promises.

He said that dissatisfaction among Istiqlal campaigners with their ministers was “justified” to some extent, given that while there have been numerous media outings for the PJD’s government officials, those from Istiqlal have been invisible.

“The Istiqlal members feel that their ministers lack any punch, and hope they will be up to the job at this time, especially as the communal elections are just around the corner and all political parties need to make their mark on the political scene,” he told Magharebia.

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