A historic U-turn occurred in Morocco’s elections and its governmental history: the moderate Islamist political party known under the name of the Party of Justice and Development Party (PJD) was confirmed as the valiant victor in the 25 November elections that were organized under the electoral benchmark of transparency. Never the dream has come true of this favoured fringe of the reform-minded Islamists until An Arab World-wide political upheaval has shaken from the Machrek to the Maghreb the very pillars of authoritarian Arab republics like Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and now Syria. The political purge of despotic Arab leaderships came just after the sweeping wave of deep democratization and green good governance Arab peoples are craving.
The Moroccan party PJD had already basked in the favour and esteem of Western leading democracies when its former Secretary-General Saadeddine Othmani was granted a reception full of warmth and geniality at the White House by former US President George Walker Bush. If most Arab states were suzerain states of the former Ottoman Empire, Morocco has remained an exception apart as an invincible and independent stronghold even in the bankrupt reign of Moulay Abdulaziz and Moulay Hafid since matrimonial alliance of several sultans with Turkey’s favourites spared them any Turkish conquest or belligerency. When the power of Ottoman Empire dwindled away, Morocco fell pray to predatory schemes of colonial powers like France and Spain. Today and unexpectedly, Morocco has remained untouched by the stormy season of Arab Spring that affected profoundly most peoples of the Middle East and North Africa politically, socially and economically. And still winds of change are blowing and shaking the branches of several political dynasties in the Arab world and popular uprisings continue to topple corrupt and ostracized leaderships.
It is obvious that the kingdom of Morocco responded to the goodwill of Arab Spring by undertaking pre-emptive, promising and democratizing measures by reforming the constitution and devolving more political prerogatives and remits to the prime minister who is constitutionally nominated by sultans and kings both in pre-colonial and post-colonial times. The New Moroccan constitution was approved by the majority of the Moroccan people since it meets, to a great extent, the demands and reflects the aspirations of the new generation of Moroccan street activist organizations like the 20 February Movement that calls for a fully-fledged parliamentary monarchy in the Spanish style. But the main and long task of reforms remains to be implemented nationwide both on the short and the long-terms.
The polling date of 25 November remains incomparably a historic electoral feat for the PJD who won 107 seat over 395 in the Moroccan parliament exceeding the expectations of most major Moroccan political parties like the running IP (Istiqlal), the left-wing USFP and PPS, the RNI (the National Rally of Independents) and the powerful Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM).
This proves anew the profound popularity the party has dug and deserved among Moroccan elites and grassroots as a mainstream of its platform of realistic approaches of tackling the prospective priorities such as job creation for the Moroccan youth in relying on the golden strategies of entrepreneurship, purposeful partnership and initiation of the educated and erudite communities into the decision-making of the country. Moreover, the party’s main members have displayed needed charisma and political rationale of integrity and good governance in the management of local affairs according to many international observers and analysts.
It seems this time that the political configuration of the Moroccan cabinet would be sufficiently heterogeneous and would epitomize a healthy political pluralism as well as a rich diversity advocated by the recently reformed constitution but it would grant prime primacy to the PJD’s political bureau to strike alliances of convenience with parties that are really interested to govern together besides the head of Moroccan State, King Mohammed VI, the country within the context of a Constructive Coalition Cabinet (CCC) responding to the democratic appeal of citizens and subjects of one of the most ancient and developed monarchy in the Arab World.
After the howling success of the moderate PJD, king Mohammed VI nominated the incumbent and charismatic Secretary-General and political leader of the PJD, Abdelilah Benkirane as the new prime minister who is going to run in this extremely sensitive political and economic situation the whole world is still experiencing. Still the flags of political and economic unions and geopolitical orders are allegorically flown at half-mast and more than half of the population of the globe is abhorring romantic colours and wearing under duress of precariousness the dark attire as a bad omen of deep distress of world population, its vanishing welfare and looming warfares.
In a concise interview, the Moroccan State Television journalist Fatima Baroudi tried to scan with the new Moroccan premier the appearing reforms on horizons that would constitute a sort of national salvation plan to achieve a global socio-economic take-off. PM Abdelilah Benkirane cherished the preliminary political achievement of his party and praised the constructive opposition within the parliament as an indispensable catalyst that would empower the future government he will head within few weeks from now to break the record.
He feels very motivated, proud and exalted after receiving a deluge of congratulatory messages from heads of states, governments and ambassadors of western democracies such France, Spain, Italy, the UK, the US, Turkey and the Arab World. He vowed that diplomatic relations with the democratic and liberal West would remain steadfast and balanced and enhanced on the grounds of pragmatic and strategic partnerships with the aforementioned countries and that Moroccan scope will extend to nurse the ideal of strengthening ties with rising superpowers like China and India.
The moderate Prime Minister of Islamist leanings did not hide his strong need of a powerful PR machine to communicate resourcefully with the media representatives accredited to Morocco and market fluently and consequentially the PJD rhetoric and philosophy in what regards the multicultural Morocco and its strong standing at the international scene as the archetypal peace-loving and tolerant nation in the world.
Undoubtedly, the political perestroika he is going to carry out should anyway speed up the vital process of democratization of the kingdom’s political landscape that would pave the way to large-scale economic investments Morocco-wide so that the dynamics of political design, social initiative and economic innovation would function together as a successful diplomatic and developmental device reflecting the availability of both natural and human resources in the Moroccan environment.
The PJD would be, hopefully, another successful experiment of inculcating the standards of universal democracy and shared wealth modelling its ideology on its twin party, the PJD of Turkey and the premiership on the political and secular bedrock of Ahmed Tayep Erdogan who achieved somehow the miracle of the Turkish millennium under the banner of abiding advancement and a blend of both kemalism and Islamist avant-gardism.
Bouzekri Chakroune
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