By choosing Abdelilah Benkirane as Prime Minister, the Moroccan people, and not anyone else, would have exercised its sovereign right through the ballot boxes in all freedom and transparency. And if it is to be recorded that this is the first time in which the Prime Minister bears full responsibility for recommending his government cabinet team, despite the different kinds of pressure he is exposed to in order to withdraw the name of this or that minister, the mere fact that he is seeking advice in an issue like this one means that Morocco has not yet overcome its government-making mentality. Nevertheless, it has begun to move in the right direction, which presumes that it should draw a clear line separating the phase preceding the recent legislative elections from what comes after it. The issue goes beyond merely accounting for the few months that have gone by since the referendum on the constitution, and towards consecrating notions and practices which the broad public has always aspired to – in other words, giving meaning to the constitutional document and to democratic commitments. And if the main pillars of such a choice have spared Morocco from falling into the pitfalls of falsifying reality, and have made it carefully listen to the factors taking shape in the street, in terms of anger and group protests, taking care to adhere to these commitments is no circumstantial matter, but rather one that must become an objective instrument in moving forward with the series of reforms that ensure upholding the will of the people. And it would be unfortunate to analyze the events and changes with the logic that it is all over. Indeed, the truth is that it has all just begun. Everything Moroccan Monarch King Mohammed VI has done towards consecrating the democratic method in the alternation of power has driven and continues to drive towards further optimism. Yet the speed at which the reform sector is progressing is not paralleled by a similar awareness that the experiences that have met with dead ends must be broken away from. And as it is with all steps towards change, there is always someone to oppose major movements of reform – either in defense of positions and privileges, or with the aim of thwarting the ability for change. It must be admitted that there are current and former officials within the state apparatus and the network surrounding it who think with the mentality of the era that preceded the elections and the ratification of the new constitution. In fact, they are stubbornly attempting to void such changes of their reformist momentum. They had wagered on sealing off all paths to the Islamists coming to power, as evidenced by the fact that the fragile alliances that sprouted like mushroom in the final hour before the voting last November, i.e. after it was too late, concealed the desire to rein in the will of voters – although the ballot boxes were in the first place there to listen to the pulse of the street, which tends towards expressing its tremors when it trusts in the soundness of the voting process. It is paradoxical for former Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui to have intervened so strongly to ban opinion polls. The fact of the matter is that he did not do this when the state media was following the tracks of any report or opinion poll that gave the rivals of the Justice and Development Party (PJD – Parti de la Justice et du Développement) the lead in the race. Yet Cherkaoui was not alone in applying a certain policy. Indeed, the predictions that sought to negate the will of voters, without success, most likely included the participation of members of the security apparatus, experts and perhaps statesmen. There are several stories circulating that state that ousted Egyptian Interior Minister Habib El-Adly had made light of the demonstrations in Tahrir Square, describing them as “a bunch of kids” shouting. The result is that he now stands alongside President Mubarak before the scaffold of history. It was perhaps a distinguishing feature of the Moroccan Monarch that he began his reign by putting an end to the series of “conspiracies of silence”, when he emptied prisons and detention centers and heralded a sound notion of power. Yet such conspiracy has many heads that hide and reappear, and it is most dangerous when it comes from those who are near – i.e. those who take pride in having no need for anyone to mediate between them and the decision-makers, and in carrying secret telephone numbers that open all doors. One cannot imagine that a King, who travels the country far and wide, shaking hands with the poor and listening to the grievances of those who suffer injustice, could be subjected to a process of disconnection from reality. And if Mohammed VI could turn back the pages of recent history, he would discover that the most dangerous conspiracies were weaved against his father by generals who had sworn allegiance to the Throne. There are no longer generals of this kind in Morocco. But there are civilians who have devoted themselves to issuing reports more resounding than the shots fired at loyal citizens. So will the people's Prime Minister, Abdelilah Benkirane, take the initiative to tear down the citadels of those who stand in defiance against change and democracy?
