Three weeks ago, after Algerian President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika was taken to the Val De Grace military hospital in France, the Algerian government announced in an official statement that the head of state would go there for a few days, and that he was fine, and would soon return. The Algerian announcement of Bouteflika's being taken to hospital in France was itself an attempt to prepare the Algerian people for the possibility that his candidacy for a new term is now unlikely, and that the military is in the process of consultations and agreeing on various candidates to succeed Boutfelika. The president had already been taken several times to France and Switzerland for treatment, but did not disclose these visits; they are circulating in media and medical circles in France and Algeria. This time, there was an official statement from Algeria, which indicates that the stroke Boutfelika suffered might be more dangerous than a simple health setback, which would require preparing the public for a new era. Two Algerian newspapers published reports on the "deep coma" of Bouteflika at the hospital, and they were stopped from publishing. A number of opposition parties asked for a medical report on the president to be issued, and inform the Constitutional Council, because it is empowered to decide if he cannot continue in office. Even though the military is the key player in Algerian politics, Bouteflika certainly enjoys influence. His presidency has not been limited to his being the result of the consensus of a few generals who are decision-makers in the country. Bouteflika and his opinions have considerable influence and he has a responsibility for outlining Algeria's domestic politics. His national reconciliation with moderate Islamists was his choice and he convinced some in the military, who had opposed it. He also is responsible for many mistakes, such as the failure of political and economic reforms. Algeria is a rich country, with around $200 billion in foreign currency reserves, but has a failed economic model. There are no investments in the tourism sector and Algeria can be one of the most beautiful tourist countries. However, complications for investors, corruption, and the lack of a minimum of services have prevented making the country attractive for tourism, in contrast to Morocco, which is much poorer. Algeria today requires a huge effort at domestic reform, and it has the capabilities for this. But the era of Bouteflika, who succeeded in arriving at civil peace, which is important, should be followed by an era of building Algeria as a modern model in which bureaucratic rigidity is gotten rid of, along with the habit of blaming French colonialism for this. The military should choose from among those who are modern and open to the world, and keeping up with change and the open economy, to leave behind old-fashioned socialism, which has paralyzed a rich country with many talented people, many of whom are in the United States, France and Switzerland. Opportunities in the country are not there, and dangerous conditions prevail in its neighbors, Tunisia and Libya. The Algerian military should select such a president, modern and open, and one who will improve and deeply fix the country, because it needs this. Will the military, which has dominated the country for decades, undertake a new reading of what the Algerian people need in the way of reform, so that the country can benefit from its human and natural (oil and gas) wealth? Will the military select candidates for president who are modern and skilled, or will it behave as it did in the past, when it selected members of the old guard, who kept the country behind in the race for cultural, social and economic modernity? Algeria should have been a leader, if not for military officials who are keen to see the country make quick, real progress. The absence of Bouteflika from the political scene, if it is a prolonged one, should begin a period of improving and modernizing Algeria, especially since it has a high number of young people. The new president cannot be from among the old guard.
