Morocco’s king just named a new prime minister, in case you forgot who’s in charge
After an unprecedented five months of post-election gridlock without a government, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI dismissed prime minister-designate Abdelilah Benkirane on Wednesday. Benkirane’s Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD) won a plurality of seats in the legislative elections in October 2016 and appeared well on its way toward a second consecutive term at the helm of the Moroccan government.
But negotiations did not go as planned. Benkirane’s dismissal came just a few days after he refused to acquiesce to a major alliance party’s demands to widen coalition talks. The shake-up was widely seen as an attempt by the monarchy and its deep state network of elite allies — known as makhzen — to regain political power.… Seguir leyendo »