PJD critics wouldn't be any different

Mohammed al-Sassi, a political science professor based in Rabat, has told Arabstoday in an exclusive interview that bids by Morocco's Justice and Development Party (PJD) to win the trust of the ruling monarchy will cost them public support, drawing parallels to the experiences of the Socialist Union Party in the past. Al-Sassi added that the party failed to impose a new style of governance, while criticising opposition factions that attacked the Islamist government led by Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane. "If I were, in the party's shoes, I would have made more concessions," he said. Arabstoday: How do you evaluate the work of the PJD through time spent as head of the government? Mohammed al-Sassi: The PJD's first speech reflected a kind of uncalculated rush. They were too enthusiastic and wanted to present their electoral victory to the people as the decisive beginning of a series of democratic change which the country was waiting for since it gained independence. As difficulties began to become more visible, this rhetoric of the PJD started to lack elements of rationality. The first rush was accompanied with an official letter talking about the democratic drafting of the constitution, and here official bodies portrayed that the only problem with the legislation was the readiness of political elites to be involved. AT: Do you mean to say fault does not lie with the PJD but the fundamental problem is the constitutional document? MS: There are issues that go against praise of the new constitution, such as whether Benkirane make strategic decisions without consulting the King (Morocco's ruling King Mohammed VI), whether he can, under the new constitution, prevent the king from appointing more counselors, and from the constitutional exercise of jurisdiction as he is the head of the Supreme Scientific Council. There's also the question of whether he can intervene and prevent the King from controlling the agenda of the Council of Ministers. AT: Everyone agrees that the new constitution is better than the 1996 version; do you think the PJD are unable to apply the positive aspects of the new draft? MS: The study of how to apply the constitution by PJD ministers poses the question: "What do they want today?". Do they want to apply the constitution in the best way, or give precedence to their relationship with the royals. We know that Benkirane thinks the best way to protect the party is by sustaining his presence in the government and being close to the king. Development is measured by his closeness to the King, therefore it follows that the Benkirane project is based on pushing the King to dispense of a group of recently-appointed officials with others from the PJD. AT: What is your take on this approach? MS: Of course, this analysis is beyond the issue of mere interests and governance. The problem is that it is a matter of people. The presence of any official near the decision-making centre means accepting and adopting a particular direction or concept and drawing certain limits of reform. It seems today that more precedence was given to normalising relations with the king. Today, the PJD works to be close to the king, and are keen on continuous communication with him. AT: Do you think that the PJD's relationship with the King will undermine its popularity? MS: Of course, this trend, which gives precedence to the royals, has its price. This phenomenon is not new. The Socialist Union, in the past, agreed to work in the beginning to gain the royals' trust, which means the monarchy should have been convinced that the Socialist Union wanted a change within the royal family and nothing else. In the second phase of this strategy, the party ended up more like the aristocracy finally they did not consult the king on certain issues and ended up losing significant popularity, along with a large chunk of their original supporters. AT: Do you think the PJD now faces resistance by certain parties that hinder the application of its electoral programme on which it was elected? MS: The stance adopted by Benkirane at the first stage of his mission as prime minister was too optimistic. The reality is that other parties do exist in the government. This also reminds us of the concepts adopted by the Socialist Union Party at the beginning of the government in 1998. The Socialist Union did not consider the parties in the government as important and will not be an obstacle, as long as the King is satisfied with the Prime Minister and supports him order to launch new reforms in the country. It turned put that the other parties were posing many challenges.  Today, two-thirds of the members of the government, headed by Benkirane, belong to parties other than the PJD. alnog with three quarters of MPs. This will lead to major problems in the government. AT: What do you think about the PJD, do you think the party will stay united, and not fracture like the Socialist Union? MS: Of course it is wise that the PJD held its National Conference now, because there is still an atmosphere of enthusiasm and joy within the party. There were no fears that the conference would lead to splits or major difference in opinion, because it came at an opportune moment to congratulate Benkirane on the success of his plan. AT: What do you mean by the PM's "plan"? MS: Benkirane adopted 10 years ago a plan to make the PJD lead the government, He was able himself to be the prime minister which is a positive thing, regardless of our assessment of this plan and its motives. There has been a tacit contract, both the regime and the PJD respect it. The PJD decided not to participate in February 20 movement and voted yes on the constitution, in return for preventing an electoral manoeuvre that would deprive the party of  votes. This move was not done and no obstacles were put by the regime till the party got what they wanted in a smooth way. This requested sacrifices by both parties; the PJD made political sacrifices when it officially missed the protests. And the monarchy made psychological sacrifices after letting the PJD take the presidency on the basis of a new constitution. AT: How do you see the parties that accuse Benkirane of  pandering to the king? MS: There are parties which think Benkirane bends to the decrees of the king, and I think personally that they would do the same thing if it were in his shoes, perhaps even more so. However, despite the success of the conference of the PJD, the Islamist party started to slowly realise the great difficulties it faced, especially those associated with the economy and society. It realised that in the current period, it could not impose a new way of governance, and the new method of governance was not enough morally. It should be productive and efficient in the sense that PJD ministers should solve the problems of the people.