Lacking tangible achievements, Tebboune hides behind Bouteflika’s projects
As he prepares for a second term, the civilian façade of the Algerian military regime Abdelmedjid Tebboune continues to re-inaugurate projects launched by his predecessor as he has made no tangible achievements.
He re-inaugurated the Mosque of Algiers which his predecessor did not live to see, and which continues to be closed to worshippers despite the colossal amount the Algerian regime had to pay to Chinese contractors who built it with the help of Moroccan craftsmen.
He then re-oepened a border post with Mauritania that was inaugurated for the third time, since NourDine Bedoui opened it in 2018 in Bouteflika’s era.
All projects in ironically “new Algeria”- as Tebboune and his military mentor general Chengriha like to call it- were launched in the era of Bouteflika, including the graft-plagued east-west highway and a set of new stadiums.
Diplomatically, Algeria has deepened its isolation losing both the Russian and the Western camps and stoking tensions with almost all neighbors.
The consecutive diplomatic setbacks led the henchmen of the regime such as notorious regime proponent Said Bensdira to say Algeria has only half Sudan meaning General Burhan camp and half Mali alluding to the Touaregs, left as allies!
As Russia and China take their distances from Algiers following the BRICS debacle, so does Western powers such as France, Spain, the US and the UK, which all declared Algerian south and Tindouf area a no-go zone citing risk of terrorism.
Economically, the gas mantra opened by the invasion of Ukraine served the regime to buy social peace, inflate salaries at risk of triggering further inflation and subsidize products. No tangible effort to diversify the economy was undertaken as Algeria continues to stand as the perfect example of the “resource course” with an extractive economy in which oil and gas represent more than 90% of the country’s exports.
As its economy deteriorates, so does Algeria’s social peace and stability prospects. Against this backdrop, Tebboune and his military protectors are delving deep into conspiracy theories blaming Morocco, Israel, and sometimes France for all their self-inflicted woes.
To further stoke conspiracy theories, the Algerian regime is conducting military drills simulating a short and limited war with Morocco. If this happens, it could offer a chance for the Algerian regime to declare an emergency and maintain Tebboune in power sine die, according to a report by Maghreb Intelligence news website.
Algerian observers say that if Tebboune runs for a second term, elections are expected to be rigged and unrest is not to be ruled out in a country where all the ingredients of another pro-democracy protest or Hirak are piling up.
