It makes no difference whether Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika runs for a fourth term or suggests a constitutional amendment to extend his mandate for two additional years, or if a vice president is elected to avoid vacuum. At the end of the day, the president will succeed to himself, and the measures to pave the way for that were behind the changes and shifts in the government, the loyalties, and security and military centers of influence. The Algerian FLN returned to the forefront against the backdrop of the conflict over power and the liquidation of the legacy of an incomplete openness due to the fears surrounding the monopolization of power by the Islamic Salvation Front around two decades before the winds of the Arab spring. It was clear that the National Liberation Front will remain the presidency's political arm, that it will continue to use it like a Trojan Horse and that the diversity which expanded with the beginning of the openness to market economy and the containment of the hegemony of the one ruling party, paved the way before a partisan scene that did not exit the circle of control. But Algeria was no exception in its regional surrounding, considering that Morocco also witnessed that same experience, despite the different choices of the regime. Indeed, diversity was at first modest and artificial, and it took many decades for the late King Hassan II to become convinced to appoint Abderrahmane Youssoufi as prime minister from the opposition ranks. This experience shook the foundations of the political scene, before the balance tilted in favor of the Islamic Justice and Development Party following a wide constitutional amendment. The Tunisian experience – prior to the toppling of deposed President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali's regime – also witnessed scenarios aiming to turn some parties into racing rabbits towards the presidency, before the collapse of a structure with frail and poorly rooted foundations in the democratic soil. In Libya on the other hand, the situation was different. There were no parties and no institutions, just the authority of the one ruler who left behind a horrific vacuum, in which the language of weapons and violence prevailed over logic and the arrangement of a peaceful transition that would revive the hopes of seeing a state of institutions. In the meantime, Mauritanian President General Mohamed Ould Abdul Aziz chose to replace his military uniform with soft gloves, to open the pave of a difficult transition. Although the Maghreb region was the first to see the forts of power – which did not rely on democratic legitimacy – shaken, the diverging interpretations surrounding the palpable results of the change that did not occur as expected, pushed towards the sustainment of the policy of caution and retreat. And just like the Moroccans are finding refuge in their spring that was peaceful and caused the least amount of losses, the Algerians are right about their wish not to waste their stability. Hence, Bouteflika – whose ambition retreated due his frailty – was able to make his own Algerian spring, one whose importance can only be appreciated by those who were affected by the ten-year war that caused widespread devastation. Just like stability has its price, democracy also requires the pumping of new blood. At this level, the political parties should act as a tributary to enrich the practices based on the instatement of true diversity. Hence, there is nothing wrong with seeing Bouteflika running on behalf of the FLN, which announced this development after having witnessed divisions and schisms that cannot be dissociated from the concerns surrounding the arrangement of the affairs of the rule. However, his opponents should have equal chances and opportunities, knowing that his arrival to the presidency following the first elections – after the withdrawal of his challengers – revealed the existence of pressures exerted from outside the context of the ballot boxes. But such practices are no longer acceptable, at least to give the impression that there is hope in seeing a peaceful transition of power. This tradition has not yet been instated, knowing that to the west of Algeria, Tunisia in the post-revolution stage is still trying to deal with the resignation of the ruling troika, amid attempts deployed by each side to benefit to the fullest extent from the existing disputes over the ratification of the constitutional draft, the prerogatives of the Constituent Assembly, and the laws regulating the presidential and parliamentary elections. And if this is happening in a country that has witnessed a revolution, what will the situation be like in other countries seeing with their own eyes that whoever comes to power is throwing the ladder on which he climbed to prevent the others from using it? This is the problem of democracy when it is not placed on the right track since the start. The North African states always believed they were more likely to heed the lessons of the transformations which occurred on the northern bank of the Mediterranean Sea. However, the Eastern European countries were faster and more capable of disposing of the burdens of totalitarian regimes. Consequently, the European support they were receiving to establish political, economic, and cultural partnerships was not secured at the same pace, at a time when they were subjected to pressures for having chosen to open up to Western values, although they remained the hostage of a slowly changing mentality at the level of their practices. Choosing between stability and change is not as contradictory as it is depicted. Democracy guarantees stability because it creates institutional states, but does not shape individuals and mentalities. This not only guarantees a peaceful power transition, but also enhances its values that rely on diversity, plurality, the spirit of initiative, and the respect of the results of the ballot boxes. Nevertheless, while the spring seasons planted the seeds of hope, its countries' orchards withered and receded. This, among many other factors, pushed towards retreat and the insistence on what already exists, due to fears surrounding the unknown. Still, democracy is like a child taking his first steps. He should be protected until he grows up and becomes capable of walking without leaning on anything. And there is still plenty of time to choose the road that will not lead towards a dead-end.
