The tempest stirred by Islamist MP Mustapha Ramid, who indicated that he would resign from the Moroccan Parliament, has died down. This is not because he went back on his decision, but because of the reactions to this threat. On the one hand, the leadership of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) rejected his resignation, while on the other, Parliament and the government coalition believed that the issue harmed the country's legislative institution. No MP or bloc has threatened to resign without provoking a storm of criticism. The late King Hassan II once intervened, after MPs from the Socialist Union refused to extend a legislative session. He threatened to strip them of his protection, as the commander of the faithful, in a precedent that linked religious authority to political disputes. However, the crisis was solved amid the deepening belief that having the opposition inside Parliament was better than outside it. What is interesting in Ramid's threat to resign is that he put is party in an embarrassing position. The party could not leave him alone, while at the same time it could not embark on an adventure with uncertain consequences. It is undertaking partisan battles against several groups, and nothing obliges the PJD to open new front. However, the consequences of the threat to resign have, in many people's opinion, formed a precedent in political practice, even if the actual resignation did not take effect. The matter transcends that of a mere decision; it involves intentions, which represents a change in the behavior of the opposition. Perhaps the biggest political development in Morocco lies in the formation of an Islamist party that carries out its role in a legitimate framework. It was helped in this by the fact that previous opposition parties, which represented influential forces in managing the struggle, moved to the forefront of governmental responsibilities. Much as its transition since 1998 has been important in the formulas of the country's political struggle, the opposition arena has become empty, and this paved the way for the birth of an opposition Islamist party. Morocco, meanwhile, managed to offer a model of coexistence among different political factions, unlike the prevailing idea that such a situation was impossible. The PJD worked on removing its religious “cloak” and becoming a political party. It was in the forefront of groups that endorsed a new law on political parties, forbidding their formation based on religion, ethnicity or tribe. It does not matter that it might have been forced to do this in order to contain the conflicts that grew out of the suicide attacks in Casablanca in 2003, which went as far as the demands of the party, which publically declared itself to be a political party guided by religion. Most importantly, it continues to stoke many sensitivities, and it has been acknowledged as opposing political pluralism. A few days ago, the PJD's secretary general, Abdullah bin Kiran, stated that four parties in the country had sprung from the people. He could barely overcome the political and media firestorm touched off by these statements, until MP Ramid came along and threatened to resign, which placed even more obstacles to a normalization process. One of the major repercussions is that the Socialist Union, headed by Parliament Speaker Abdelwahed Radi, decided to speak out. He criticized the behavior of MP Ramid, while four parties from the government coalition responded to his criticisms. Perhaps the most important aspect of this change is that the alliance woven by the PJD and the Socialist Union after the municipal elections of last year is on its way to disappearing, while the Istiqlal Party, which heads the government, has joined the ranks of PJD opponents. This development comes in the run-up to elections in 2012; consequently it indicates that the course of political alliances might end up isolating the PJD, after it achieved the breakthrough of coexisting with its rivals. Up to 1998, no one would have believed that the opposition Socialist Union would head the government, trading off with the leadership of Abderraman Yusufi. The move marked a radical change in the experience of the party that was one of the fiercest opponents of the regime. The PJD might need an electoral victory to boost its status, even if it is likely that some of the smaller battles do not lead to great glory. Everything remains subject to precise calculations that leave no room for error.
