New Government to Include 30 Ministers
After unveiling the parties participating in the new government, a source close to the Head of Government designate Saad Eddine El Othmani told local media that the new cabinet would include 30 ministers.
El Othmani managed to end the deadlock left by his predecessor Abdelilah Benkirane whose negotiations to form a new government stalled in view of his position against the inclusion of the leftist USFP in the new government.
Almost ten days after he was appointed by King Mohammed VI as head of government and entrusted with forming the new government, El Othmani reached a breakthrough agreement with the leaders of six parties: Liberal RNI and UC, traditionalist MP and socialist USFP and PPS.
The outgoing government was made up of four parties and 37 ministers. A larger number of participating parties in this Government makes it a daunting task for El Othmani to distribute portfolios.
A governmental coalition between the PJD and the five parties will make up a majority of 240 seats out of 395. The PJD emerged victorious in the October 7 general elections by 125 seats followed by PAM (102), the conservative PI (46), the RNI (37), MP (27), USFP (20), UC (19) and the PPS (12).
The current governmental coalition shows once again that the ideological referential of political parties has been swept by narrow calculations. A coalition between the Islamists, liberals and socialists is showing to what extent political parties in Morocco are losing credential thus becoming copies of each other. Liberal PAM and conservative PI will be in the opposition. Neither the opposition nor the coalition show homogeneity in terms of ideology though they espouse more or less the same reforms.
The fragmentation of Morocco’s political landscape makes no party able to win an outright majority. To secure the majority of seats, coalition between several parties is necessary, putting the distribution of ministerial portfolios on a rocky road, not to speak of compromises on the policies of the different partners in the future government.
