Beyond being partial elections for seats that could be counted on one's fingers, the fact that Morocco's Justice and Development Party (PJD – Parti de la Justice et du Développement) has monopolized their absolute majority means that the Islamist party's popular clout has not been affected by the PJD moving from the opposition to the government. And as democracy has gained by having elections held over which there have been no suspicions, after the Constitutional Council settled any issues of interpretation regarding the use of mosques for political ends, the victory achieved by the ruling party remains a striking one. No Moroccan government has ever been subjected to pressures and constraints, from multiple sources, on multiples bases and from multiple positions, as has the experience led by PJD leader Abdelilah Benkirane. It is perhaps precisely for this reason that he has persistently described his adversaries as working in the darkness. He has in fact introduced terms like crocodiles, demons and banner-men of confusion to the lexicon of partisan conflict, after some leaders had spoken of a “secret party" and of lobbies opposed to change. It is paradoxical for a party that ratified a raise in the price of gas and oil derivatives to have been able to escape a punitive vote, despite the use of the stifling economic crisis to change the direction taken by public opinion. This means at the very least that the voting bloc that is supporting the Islamists is doing so with a sense of conviction and of commitment. Meanwhile, the opponents of the Islamist party are still looking for themselves in order to attract voters who either no longer care or have not changed their stances since the elections of last November. In fact, the partial elections in Tangiers and Marrakech have not been affected by the previous pattern, and none of the prominent figures who had obtained second, third or fourth place succeeded at reconfirming such a ranking. Quite simply, the PJD would not have achieved such a major breakthrough had it not turned into an “oppressed party", receiving blows from every side, and not just from the opposition. In fact, ever since it was founded, it seemed that the political scene in Morocco was unable to accept a player whose frame of reference and working methods differed from the traditional customs of political parties. One could even say that the lack of acceptance has gradually become a lack of assimilation, reaching not just the party's identity, but the entirety of the wagers and the challenges being put forward. There is no way it can be toppled in any manner. Yet there is evidence asserting that the Socialist Union (USFP – Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires) only achieved momentum and widespread popularity after it became clear to everyone that there had been attempts to stifle it. Indeed, it too was subjected to pressures aimed at its suspension, against a background of incidents that had erupted. It thus took longer to assimilate the fact that its legitimacy in the opposition is what gave the alternation government the impetus that surrounded its first steps under the leadership of Socialist leader Abderrahmane Youssoufi. The Islamists of the PJD have become aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the political structure. Thus, after they overcame the obstacle of constraints that sought after the destruction of their party at any cost, they found refuge in voters, asking them for their support and solidarity. Yet Benkirane, who considers sound decisions to be preferable to any fleeting popularity, does not hesitate to boast that his party's battle against corruption and oppression has not ended because the PJD has risen to the forefront of the partisan scene, but rather is ongoing from its current position. This time he has chosen to address the first World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg in the same language at which he excels. Among other things, he said that, on the northern shores of the Mediterranean, the rich and powerful own much, while others own little. The situation in Morocco, on the other hand, is a different one: here the powerful own everything, while others own nothing. Perhaps by his choice of words, he sought to send several messages, foremost among them being that assuming government responsibilities has not changed his habits and his stances. This may well be one of the factors that have spared his party from paying the price of moving to the forefront of government. In a similar approach, his predecessor Abderrahmane Youssoufi had gone to the European Parliament to present his country's experience after it had suffered a relapse. He was realistic and honest, but the timing was not appropriate, especially after his supporters who clung to government positions abandoned him and he found no alternative but to resign. Benkirane, who views his government's experience as being closer to a second edition of the alternation government, does not want to duplicate the same mistakes. Indeed, he has placed one foot in government while leaning on the other, so as not to lose touch with the street. One of the consequences of this tendency, characterized by a greater extent of obstinacy, has been not just to save face for his party, but also to preserve for it the glimmer of continuity. There are those who consider the partial elections to sum up the way ahead for the municipal elections. Despite the difference between legislative and local elections, the latter remain closer to the tendencies of voters, as they fall back on their neighborhoods and towns with the aim of changing them for the better. And tomorrow, if the regional system is ratified, the central government will have no choice but to manage strategic issues and draft the general outline of public policy. In fact, it is paradoxical for the city of Tangiers – where the inhabitants of an underprivileged neighborhood rose up against the evacuation of a building and the incident turned into what resembles civil disobedience and rebellion – to be the one to renew its confidence in the candidates of the PJD. And there is nothing more eloquent than such a picture, which places the demons and crocodiles where they belong: outside the scope of partisan and political influence.
