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Roundup: Morocco's king appoints new gov't to end political deadlock

Xinhua, April 5, 2017 Adjust font size:

Morocco's King Mohammed VI appointed on Wednesday the members of the new Islamist-led government, marking an end to six months of political deadlock.

Since the October election, Morocco had lived without a government after the former Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane and his former partnering parties disagreed on whether to expend the coalition of the government or not.

Benkirane firmly refused to add up any other party to the four-parties majority, but two of his former partnering parties, the liberal National Rally of Independents (RNI) and the nationalist Popular Movement (MP), insisted that two other smaller parties join the government, namely the Constitutional Union Party, the leftist parties of Socialist Union of Popular Forces Party.

After five months of wrangling, Morocco's king decided to replace Benkirane with Saadeddine El Othmani, number two in the leadership of the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD).

El Othmani accepted to expand the coalition, and he announced on March 25 the formation of a coalition with the four mentioned parties as well as his party's closed ally the Party of Progress and Socialism.

The 39 posts of the new government were divided between these partnering parties depending on their results in the parliamentary elections last October. In addition to leading the government, the PJD took 10 ministries. Its main partners, RNI and MP, had seven and six portfolios respectively. Nine other ministries were allocated to the remaining three parties in the collation.

The government consisted also of eight members who do not belong to any party, but are seen as appointees of the royal palace. These members will lead the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Defense, Interior, Education, Secretariat General of the Government and Endowments and Islamic Affairs.

Having formed the long-awaited government in short period, El Othmani has to tackle quickly the rising outrage at the grassroots of his Islamist party which has strongly criticized his "concessions" to his partnering parties.

In his statement to the press after the appointment of his government by King Mohammed VI, the former foreign minister hinted on that criticism, saying "the swift formation of the government was imposed by the harmful effects of the deadlock on the country as well as its economic, especially small businesses."

El Othmani also said that his new government will pursue the reforms launched by the former one, which was also led by his party. "We will put the interests of the Moroccan citizen beyond any other consideration," he insisted. Endit