Rabat – The National Rally of Independents (RNI) political party held an assembly for Moroccans living outside Morocco yesterday, October 13, in Frankfurt, Germany.
A number of party members living in Europe attended the event, along with the party’s leaders. Party president Aziz Akhannouch and former minister of justice Mohamed Aujjar topped the list of attendees .
During his speech, Aujjar praised RNI and its members for their competencies. He also promised that his party, if elected, “will create miracles and surprises in 2021, under Akhannouch’s leadership.”
“By then, we will be able to produce cars and planes in Morocco. We will make real miracles happen for a bright future,” added the senior member of RNI.
Aujjar also stated that his party “aims to serve the country and its citizens, unlike others who exploit institutions to settle scores and share the spoils.”
The RNI politician’s comments met backlash on social media, with many users criticizing Aujjar for his apparent ignorance of Morocco’s thriving automotive industry.
The statements come one day after Morocco’s Head of Government, Saadeddine El Othmani, implicitly attacked the RNI.
During an assembly of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) on Saturday, October 12, El Othmani criticized the “unkept promises” of the RNI.
Talking about the 34-year-old new minister of labor and PJD member, Mohamed Amakraz, El Othmani said: “PJD always creates surprises. There are people who promised to give youth a position in the government, but they didn’t. As for us, we didn’t say anything, but we gave a chance to our youth.”
The Head of Government’s comments were targeted towards RNI, whose leader, Akhannouch, promised to give the youth high-profile positions in the government.
During RNI’s assembly, Akhannouch also answered El Othmani’s statements. RNI’s president and the minister of fisheries and agriculture started his speech by justifying the “broken promises.”
“I told the youth that they would be part of the 2021’s government, and I am aware of what I said. I can’t put young people in big political positions directly, they need to be trained first to succeed in their missions,” said Akhannouch.
The Moroccan minister also expressed his surprise at El Othmani’s statement, as it came only one day after King Mohammed VI’s speech. The King invited all political parties to avoid conflict and focus on the services they provide to the citizens.
“[El Othmani’s statement] is a disturbance of King Mohammed VI’s speech, it’s illogical,” said Akhannouch.
RNI and PJD are both part of the coalition that forms the Moroccan government. The exchange of jibes between the two party leaders comes less than a week after the government shuffle, and could evolve into more tension between the parties.
