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Rabat- The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) is trying to replicate the French political movement “La République En Marche”, according to Ledesk.ma.
Former PAM MP Mehdi Bensaid is the man behind the idea. If the project sees life, it will bear the name “Convergences”.
Founded in April 2016 by the new French President Emmanuel Macron, then Minister of Economy, the movement quickly grew into a political force, garnering support from people weary of the two major traditional parties representing the right and left, the Republicans and the “Socialist Party.
The success of “En Marche!” leader in the recent presidential elections explains why some PAM members might want to imitate its model.While not having gained a majority approval within the party, the project is nonetheless underway.
Positioning itself in center-left, the movement will seek to court other “progressive” inclinations from other political parties or civil society.
The movement will be fighting different fronts, both external and internal. Countering the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), PAM’s rival, is one of the declared intentions of the movement.
Social media, where PJD “has the lead”, as PAM member admitted, will be the next battleground. The Islamists are massively active on social media, in comparison with other political parties, which they use to spread their messages.
The initiators of “Convergence” have their eyes set on countering PJD’ social media dominance and garner support for their movement.
Though clarifying that “Convergence” will not be an affiliate of PAM, its instigators nonetheless proclaim that it has stemmed from the party.
As the leadership of Ilyas El Omari has been questioned since the party’s loss to the PJD in general elections in October weakened its image as a competent opposition to the Islamists, the movement seems like an attempt from PAM to reinvent itself.
However, the attempt might be shadowed by past failure of “Mouvement pour tous les démocrates” (MTD), created by the same founders in 2008, before the PAM was launched.
In addition to that, some PAM members see the move to create a platform similar to “En Marche!” as not the right thing at a time when the party is undergoing a crisis.
“The situation of PAM today is totally different, and no comparison should be made with the movement founded by Macron,” said a member of the party.
PAM members not in favor of duplicating the French movement are casting doubt over its chances of success.
“In France, Macron symbolizes a youth which acted as a centralizing force. His movement relies on networks already established. On the other hand, Bensaid lacks the capacity to reproduce an experience of such a scale,” said the same source.
