New Moroccan party seen as challenge to Islamists
03/08/2008
Moroccan politician Fouad Ali El Himma has long been a media sensation, thanks to his close association with King Mohammed VI. His announcement that he will lead a new political party is widely seen as a direct challenge to Islamist opposition party, the PJD.
Hassan Benmehdi in Casablanca contributed to this report – 03/08/08
 [Hassan Benmehdi] The formation of a new political party led by Fouad El Himma is widely viewed as a direct challenge to the PJD. |
Five Moroccan political parties and thirty-five deputies in the Chamber of Representatives have decided to join forces to form a single political entity, the Movement for All Democrats (MTD), the new party's leader Fouad Ali El Himma announced on Tuesday (July 29th).
"The formation of a political party is a natural consequence of our desire and determination to play a national political role," one MTD member who wished to remain anonymous told Magharebia.
El Himma, former Interior Minister, current deputy, and boyhood friend to King Mohammed V1, spearheaded the MTD five months ago. Media reports say he presents himself as an unconditional and strong supporter of the monarchy.
The dissolution of the five constituent parties – the PND (National Democratic Party), al-Ahdi, the Alliance of Liberties, the Citizenship and Development Initiative and the Environment and Development Party – has already begun. The MTD's founding congress is scheduled to take place in November.
El Himma's political objectives may –for now—be overshadowed by his celebrity status.
"In a word, Fouad is everywhere," Telquel magazine wrote in a June 13th cover story on El Himma. "Mohammed VI is king, Fouad is his shadow", TelQuel wrote, adding that "the star of MTD [has] turned viceroy".
Also calling El Himma "a friend of the King", AFP said the "young MP" has created a party whose members "desire to reduce the influence of Islamists in Morocco".
A number of observers agree that the new party is positioning itself for a head-on confrontation with the PJD, Morocco's Islamist Justice and Development Party.
"This much is clear", Le Reporter editorialised on July 28th. "The MTD has designated for itself a well-identified political adversary—the Islamist pole".
Simply put, El Himma's goal is to counter the Islamists in the forthcoming elections and ward off the "Islamist tidal wave", the opinion piece continues, noting that in opposing the PJD, El Himma is only "defending the throne and serving the monarchy".
Elected on July 20th, the PJD's new Secretary-General, Abdelillah Benkirane, however, has also been described as a defender of the king.
Some say Benkirane's politics are more palatable to the monarch, representing a moderate Islam that counters radicalism in politics and security affairs.
For now, the PJD feels targeted. In an interview published in La Nouvelle Tribune, Mustapha Ramid of the PJD said that El Himma must respect the democratic game and not use his connections to influence the elections.
Morocco’s existing political parties are reserving judgement.
Nabil Benabdellah of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) believes that the emergence of a new party is nothing remarkable in a country which already has around thirty political entities.
The Istiqlal party's Latifa Smires believes that only time will tell how El Himma’s new party will acquit itself.
Others say that political apathy among Moroccan citizens indicates a political scene in crisis.
Casablanca resident Hakim thinks the new party will not change anything, so long as Moroccan parties remain unwilling to listen to citizens.
His friend Ali believes that the new party should shake up the political stage as a whole and give it a new sense of direction.
"However," Ali told Magharebia, "[El Himma] must not take advantage of the relations he has with certain state figures because that would run contrary to democratic principles".