The government of Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas al-Fasi has not collapsed, but nor has it succeeded in containing the criticisms directed against it. However, it has left the impression that there is no alternative for it but to remain in power until the completion of its term. At the least, this would protect the country's democratic path, as we await the elections of 2012. However, the controversy that has been sparked at the mid-term mark of this government has been escalating, thanks to some opposition factions, although it has not gone as far as demanding a vote of no confidence. The situation resembled a friendly match of football, which cannot be considered a consequential competition. Each side was aware of the extent of its capabilities, in light of the politically predetermined calculations. For instance, the unity of the opposition, which took power as a coalition called the Democratic Front in 1998, is absent this time. It is not likely that there will be an agreement between the two main factions, the Islamist Justice and Development (Adala wa Tanmiya) party, and the Authenticity and Modernity (Asala wa Mu‘asara) movement, which has attracted various left-wing and right-wing groups under the umbrella of the opposition. The difficulty of concluding an agreement between Abbas al-Fasi and the Authenticity and Modernity faction has prolonged the life of his government, while a number of parties in the majority expressed more openness to the constituents of the opposition. However, this was linked to the efforts to gather support for political reforms, for which there is converging support, but a disparity of interpretations, as each side has a different stance about the content and dimensions of the reforms: Some want to go back to the single-member voting system, which helps individual candidates more than political parties, as part of a collective agreement over banning the candidacies of non-party members. Others want to limit the phenomenon of “political journeying”, which involves MPs changing their affiliations following their election victories. Some might also want this as a way to revive the ban on parties that have tribal, religious or ethnic bases. However, the most important thing is that what they agree on will be the same thing that drowns them in the upcoming elections, which all sides appear to have begun to engage in, rather prematurely. There is a growing feeling by political elites that their conflicts, which may be fuelled further, could benefit the advocates of forming a Cabinet of technocrats as a caretaker government to run the 2012 elections. Amid this, there is credence that when politicians are in agreement, then this is better than when they are in disagreement. However, the decline suffered by leading groups such as the Socialist Union and the National Gathering of Independents, which are part of the ruling coalition, has in one way or another maintained the leading role of the Istiqlal [Independence] Party, headed by al-Fasi. This party has not undergone internal splits, even though the fiercest criticism was directed at government ministers from this specific group, during the deliberations over the government's policy statement. This decline appeared to be a matter of common concern for both government and opposition parties; neither is the majority happy with the Cabinet's performance, nor is the opposition able to bring the government down, amidst a lack of political equilibrium. The phenomenon appears to fairly new in the political scene in Morocco. Ever since the country entered the juncture of rotation of power at the end of the 1990s, the opposition has not proven to be a worthy adversary, even though the Justice and Development achieved striking political victories in the elections. However, it continues to bear the repercussions of the suicide attacks of 2003 in Casablanca, as there were criticisms about the possibility that Islamist groups were instigating violence. Nevertheless, there are important political events looming, such as in the formulation and execution of the regional system, which grants wide prerogatives in the management of local affairs. This means the country will enter a new phase that will necessarily help lead to a change in roles and affiliations, as the struggle moves from a focus on traditional politics, to the vicissitudes of socio-economic conditions on the ground. Will Morocco's political elites then, be deserving candidates for bringing about this type of change? Or, will politics continue to divide them, amid the rising aspirations of voters, who want to see a democratic alternative leading to real change? It is a question that should be posed, as al-Fasi's government successfully makes it halfway through its term.
