Rabat, July 10, 2013 (MAP)
Rabat, July 10, 2013 (MAP)
The Istiqlal party withdrawal from the coalition government led by the Party for justice and development (PJD) is the major highlight of editorials published this Wednesday July 13, 2013.
Aujourd’hui le Maroc draws attention to the fate of some priority issues in Morocco, noting that the expectative situation to which the government crisis has ushered the executive and legislative branches is very costly.
The paper which cites among these priority issues, reforms of the subsidy fund, restructuring the pension fund and the delay in the adoption of regulating laws says the 2014 finance bill risks to be put off or botched up.
It explains that the finance department is held by a member of the Istiqlal party who will probably have to resign and this will seriously affect the finance bill drafting process.
Le Soir Echos sees in the Istiqlal party withdrawal from the government a sign of the Moroccan political class coming of age, noting that everybody was waiting to know whether there will be a collective resignation and if it will be accepted or not.
The editorialist comments that “whatever the outcome of the crisis is, it will herald the cutting of the umbilical cord between the palace and political parties, which after denouncing for years the (palace) paternalist attitude, ran to ask for its arbitration to get out of the absurd crisis engendered by the Istiqlal party”, adding that “the royal reserve attitude has forced the Istiqlal party to shoulder the responsibility of its attitude and also consequences.
On its part, L’Economiste undertakes to list the Istiqlal party multiple gripes toward the head of government’s party (PJD), including accusations that Benkirane’s friends are behaving like a dominating and arrogant party, failed to respect the pact binding the majority, multiplied discourses without going into acts and was intending to use public funds for electoral ends.
Until now, Benkirane used to treat with disdain the Istiqlal party’s criticism. Now he should choose. Either negotiate a new pact with the present majority components, including the Istiqlal, or find new partners to have a new majority in the parliament, the editorialist writes noting that in all cases “Benkirane and the PJD should not dream of governing with a minority team”.
The editorialist warns that it would not be easy for the PJD leader to form a new majority, as the PJD MPS have been generously distributing insults and accusations at the parliament, stressing that if Bekirane is unable to build a new majority, the only alternative he is left with is to dissolve the House of representatives and hold new elections.
For Annahar Al Maghribia, it was clear that events would have led to a new government majority, noting that the executive branch has not been up to the aspirations of Moroccans.
The government has been unable to face challenges and has hampered the optimal implementation of the constitution, the editorialist says.
For Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, while the Istiqlal party withdrawal and the resignation of its ministers had a positive impact as they put an end to an alliance and co-habitation that have become impossible between the two major allies, the government coalition crisis has wasted precious time on the country.
The Istiqlal party’s pullout is only half a solution to this crisis, the other half is negotiating for a new majority, the editorialist argues before praising the maturity adopted by political parties inorder to preserve the country’s political stability in a regional environment in turmoil.
