The uprising staged by the inhabitants of slums in the Moroccan city of Marrakech is not a marginal event. It is an alarm bell which used a social issue that is provoking protests against the water and electricity shortages, to shed light on the fact that patience is running out. Nevertheless, the timing and context of this uprising give the event a larger dimension which could have been averted and absorbed, without the need to take to the street. Indeed, some files have a snowball effect when disregarded. Abdelilah Benkirane's government succeeded in promoting previous measures, such as raising the oil prices without provoking angry reactions - as this step was perceived as being the beginning of the march towards reforming the clearing system which regulates the state's subsidization of basic consumer products such as flour, oil and sugar. However, the signs of social disgruntlement are not going in line with the government's wishes this time around. On one hand, this is due to the fact that it appeared to be divided and inconsistent over the measures it plans on implementing, after the Independence Party command expressed its dissatisfaction with the lack of coordination between the components of the current governmental coalition, thus perceiving this situation as being a sign of weakness which might provoke unexpected results. On the other hand, it is due to the fact that the street's patience exceeded the government's ability to address strong signals, in order to spread trust and reassurance. In the meantime, the weight of the Justice and Development Party that is heading the government has not been affected, in light of the support it earned from the voters in by-elections. This is primarily due to the weakness of its opponents rather than to the increase of its own influence, knowing there is a great difference between earning confidence based on the punitive voting targeting the opponents and earning it due to the good management of public affairs. It will be difficult for the Islamic party to continue adopting one policy against everyone, considering that alliances do not only aim at guaranteeing a parliamentary majority to support the government, but also reflect a rapprochement at the level of the programs, visions and work methods. This is especially true since the opposition, and despite its limited performance, is now rushing to denounce the conservative inclination within the government, and not this or that party. Not all the measures adopted by Benkirane's government were the object of consensus and unconditional support from his partners in the ruling coalition. Indeed, parties criticized the attempts to impose the official media regulations and to slander those standing behind the transportation authorizations. Some parties even engaged in a quasi-confrontation with some deputies from the Islamic bloc inside parliament. Nevertheless, all these developments did not have any direct repercussions on the pulse of the street. This means that the emergence of deep disputes over the project to reform the clearing fund does not only threaten governmental concord, but also places the entire government before a difficult test. And because the cost of reform might not exceed the disgruntlement of the partners of the Islamic party inside the government or even within the ranks of the party which might lose a lot of its glow, the social dimension of the implementation of unpopular decisions might exceed the defined ceiling. Indeed, the aspirations which led Morocco's Islamists to seek governmental responsibility might turn against them, in case they are engrossed by the effect of the spring and forget about the brink of the abyss, as per the popular Moroccan saying. At this level, the experience of the Socialist Union which led the rotation plan is still vivid in our memories, as it found itself – in less than 14 years – paying a hefty price which did not only affect it, thus still believing it will stay in power for as many years as it did in the opposition, i.e. no less than four decades. And while the opposition party that retreated widely opposed many among the international monetary institution's inclinations and was more interested in dealing with the pressures of the foreign debt due, the Justice and Development went in the complete opposite direction, by succumbing to the forcible return to the financial and structural recovery which will not be easy to achieve. There is another logic imposing itself, saying that the search for recipes in the face of any financial or economic crisis does not stop at the level of taking them off the forgotten shelves. It rather resides in innovation and initiative, so that the treatment is free from any performance enhancers that destroy social fabric or push towards impatience. Ever since he assumed his responsibilities, Abdelilah Benkirane kept warning that the Arab spring did not just disappear and that its repercussions might resurface. As much as he was right about his predictions – which originally targeted the detractors of reform – he has started practicing that same game by saying that the electoral votes will not change. In politics, one must convince the people with positive talk, although it is clear that such talk is more useful when accompanied by the gradual changing of the reality. At this level, there is nothing more important for the widely deprived factions than seeing their homes lit and potable water flowing in their pipes. This is the most basic condition for decent living.
