It’s time to return to work after the vacation season, or almost, but there seems to be no evidence of it, at least when it comes to the political scene. In fact, as far as the political parties are concerned, despite some vague half-hearted attempts, a deafening silence prevails in all quarters, with the parties paralysed, almost certainly, by the severity of the royal speech delivered on the occasion of the Fête du Trône on 30th July.
Because, barring the resignation (not officially confirmed by PAM’s leaders) of the General Secretary of this party, Mr Ilyass El Omari, and a few ‘conformist’ reactions on the day following the Sovereign’s speech, our politicians have returned to their summer residences and are yet to venture out!
An enormous vacuum
This vacuum is even more striking given that civil society has taken a number of ‘initiatives’ to find ‘peaceful’ solutions so as to resolve the Al Hoceima crisis.
From Mohamed Nash Nash and Salah El Ouadie (Al Moubadara) to the approach taken by Noureddine Ayouch and supporters, a number of ‘non-card-carrying’ personalities have been striving, either on their own initiative or with encouragement from the ruling circles, to open a dialogue with the Hirak militants incarcerated in Oukacha, some of whom will appear in a public hearing early next week.
As a result, it is obvious that the political class, whatever the political party, either in government or in opposition, is totally ‘out’, marginalised and absent, but above all, that it has no intention of upholding its constitutional responsibility which is to provide leadership to citizens.
It goes to show that the royal speech of 30th July is still very much on the agenda. While Ilyass El Omari believed that he and his party needed to learn a few lessons, his ‘colleagues’ have instead preferred to observe a silence which speaks volumes about the aptitude and the desire of our zaïms to be self-critical, a quality underlined by the late Allal El Fassi.
As a result, the political class not only seems even more distant from common citizens and their concerns, but also from the very concept of political action itself, that-is-to-say, being militant, taking action to educate the masses, rallying supporters and representing their aspirations and claims.
Evidence of this can be found on the occasion of the partial elections held in Tétouan, when only two political parties believed it necessary to stand for elections, the PJD (whose member, despite being disqualified by the Constitutional Council, stood again) and the FGD!
No doubt the other parties felt that it was not worthwhile standing in these elections, forgetting that an electoral campaign is an indispensable milestone in a party’s existence, even if the chances of winning are minimal.
This ‘remarkable’ apathy shown by the political class has only served to widen the already yawning gap that exists between the ‘people’ and the parties, and there is now a glaring dearth of positive prospects.
And yet…
And yet, the issues that ought to goad the parties and incite them to act, analyse and propose solutions enabling them to ‘take centre stage’ are manifold.
What with the damaging effects of unemployment, the crisis affecting youngsters who have limited prospects, the rising levels of intolerance, blatantly expressed in obscurantist reactions, the social misery, the vital issues relating to education, housing, and health, there are so many important areas that require the political class to intervene, yet these remain uncultivated due to the lack of ‘combatants’.
Given such stark realities, it is clear that the speech on the occasion of the Fête du Trône referred to a very real and seriously worrying situation, although forty days have passed and nothing has changed!
Perhaps the parties are waiting for Godot?
Perhaps they will show up when they are notified or when they feel that lightning is about to strike them.
But as for taking initiative, absolutely not!
We can therefore conclude that domestic politics are in such a state that what is needed is not simply cosmetic changes, backroom deals and changing personalities (men or women), but a thorough and comprehensive overhaul of our country’s party-political system.
While it’s not possible to make a comparison as such, we have seen in France, during the Presidential and legislative elections last spring, new political parties such as La République en Marche and La France Insoumise emerge, who managed to steal a march on the established parties, beleaguered by their shady dealings, narrow-minded calculations and over-vaulting ambitions.
Without hoping for a similar aggiornamento, because public opinion is not ready for it, given its apathy towards the nation’s political parties, we can at least hope that fresh impetus may be found to provide Politics with some genuine, patriotic and progressive content so that the citizens of Al Hoceima, Casablanca, Oujda and Dakhla feel that they have finally been understood, supported and represented.
Thirty or forty years ago, it was not possible to have a popular struggle without the involvement of political parties which, at that time, were not frightened to have a distinct personality, a programme and an identity, even if that occasionally meant paying the price of repression…
Today, their contribution can be measured by their absence!
Fahd YATA
Original article : https://lnt.ma/vie-politique-zero-linfini/
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