By Loubna Flah
By Loubna Flah
Morocco World News
Casablanca, July 10, 2013
The Istiqlal Party secretary general, Hamid Chabat has finally decided to suit the word to the action. Chabat submitted the decision to withdraw from Benkirane’s government to the Monarch who has refused to narrow the rift between the warring parties, namely the PJD and the IP, which makes the IP’s threat to implode the PJD-led government more than a scare tactic.
It is impossible to view this political paralysis in Morocco with a total disregard to the Egyptian turmoil. We do not support the view that the democratization of the Arab countries is one monolithic movement for the geopolitical weight of Arab countries varies and their historical proximity to the practice of “democracy” is highly discrepant.
Nevertheless, the thin thread tethering the bulk of these countries is the long standing and deeply seated frustration with modes of governance, which makes the correlation inevitable. There is no sensible person who would deny that the latest military coup masterminded against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is the anathema of democracy. Ironically enough, every time the “Islamists” play and win the game of democracy, the world quits the game.
One of the reasons why the situation in Egypt went out of control is the incapacity of the opposition parties to challenge the government from their standing in the legislative institutions. A weakened opposition is not a symptom of robust democracy. The interests of the people cannot be maintained without the constant political wrangling between the majority and the opposition.
In this regard, the Moroccan opposition parties failed their duty to question the government and scrutinize its policies. The opposition parties, including the United left have yielded to their old obsession: ideology. The first skirmishes made on behalf of Islamism were dauntlessly criticized by the opposition parties since their main phobia remains the “Islamist take over”.
Since Benkirane, is the most cautious Islamist in the region, he soon withdrew the whole ideological discourse to leave place to a politically colorless positions that are extremely difficult to situate in the Moroccan political spectrum.
The PJD has also the misfortune to rise to power in times of trouble. Poorly skilled in macro governance and engulfed in an aura of hurdles, Benkirane and his ministers failed to keep the national economy afloat and to address the issues of employment adequately. Instead, Benkirane run to the doors of the world’s most “generous” creditor , the IMF.
As the frustration is still rising among Moroccans and all the indexes of growth plummeting, the only hope for the Moroccan citizen is to have a potent opposition that can hold the government accountable, provided the current wrangling is solved quickly and the different stakeholders geared for the confrontation and may the best win. For democracy should be anchored in the acceptance of difference and the potential for consensus.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy
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