There have been questions of whether Fouad Ali Al Himma will become Morocco’s future a Prime Minister after this year’s general parliamentary elections. Fouad Ali Al Himma is one of the closest friends of King Mohammed VI from childhood. They studied together. When the King ascended the throne he appointed him as "secretary" of the ministry of the interior. A secretary in Morocco is below the position of a minister. So no confusion please! (Government in Morocco takes from the French system as you know.). He was then promoted as Deputy Interior Minister. Last August he resigned from his ministerial position to stand as an independent parliamentary candidate in his region Rhamna, one of the poorest regions in Morocco. This gesture was interpreted by many as a tactic to allow him to become a Prime Minister. In the recent elections his no-political-affiliation list -made up of three candidates, including himself- won the three seats reserved to this region.
Personally I don't think that the King will venture to appoint him as a PM as he doesn't belong to any political party. If the plan was to make him PM, he would have kept his ministerial job. After all, the King is free to appoint whoever PM he chooses. The current PM Driss Jettou used to be an interior minister. He was later appointed as Technocrat PM. He doesn't belong to any party. The King took the decision because the winning parties couldn't agree on PM to put forward to the King.
Appointing Fouad Ali Al Himma can be politically risky as it will make people in future election turn out at an alarming rate. In these elections the turnout was just 37%. This will just enhance the view of the purpose of the elections if a close friend of the King is a PM, giving the impression that both are using their powers to rule while the rest of the ministers from other parties are there just to execute their orders.
Another point, the excitement that the Islamist Party PJD can win an outright victory in these elections seems to be dashed. It came second with 47 seats. The Nationalist party Al Istiqlal came first with 52 seats. It seems the PJD will have little chance to get in the government or to have key ministries as Al Istiqlal will make a coalition with the other parties staunchly opposed to the PJD like Popular Movement, the National Rally of Independents and Socialist Union of Popular Forces. There is the probability that Al Istiqlal (Independence) Party leader Abbas El Fassi will be the PM. His party is surely not to cause any alarm for Western countries, especially the USA, as it has no Islamic agenda. It remains up to the parties which have been allied with his party to ally with it again before the King appoints a technocrat PM as it was the case with the current government.
Here are the temporary results as announced by the minister of the interior:
The Istiqlal (independence) party, the oldest party in Morocco has gained 52 seats, followed by rival opposition Party for Justice and Development (PJD), 47 seats, and the Popular Movement (MP) whose electorate comes mostly from rural Berber areas, 43 seats. Three other parties that were represented in the government coalition (including PI and MP), the National Rally of Independents (RNI) and the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), which has been so far the leading force in the outgoing government coalition with 8 ministers, as well as the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), won respectively 38, 36 and 17 seats.
Listen to a BBC report on Moroccan monarchy, past and present
There have been questions of whether 
Another point, the excitement that the Islamist Party PJD can win an outright victory in these elections seems to be dashed. It came second with 47 seats. The Nationalist party 
1 comment:
It doesn't matter whether Fouad Ali Al Himma worked in Interior Ministry or close friend of King. The question is can he work well for the sake of his nation.
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