(AFP) – Political evolution, priorities, “advances”, “imperfections” … In a rare interview with AFP, two royal advisers give an overview of the twenty years of Mohammed VI’s reign.
“Unaccustomed to expose himself”, 75-year-old Abdellatif Menouni is a constitutionalist scholar called to the royal cabinet in 2011. Omar Azziman, 72, a university professor twice appointed, “works on many things” – human rights. ‘Man, justice reform, territorial organization, education.
– What assessment after twenty years of rule?
“The benefits of the development achieved during these 20 years have not benefited everyone.We have a dissatisfaction, we can not find jobs for our young, we have regions too deprived …. Moroccans can be proud of the journey accomplished but we are not insensitive to imperfections, deficiencies and malfunctions.To continue to move forward, we need social cohesion, it is crucial “(O. Azziman).
“A number of things have been accomplished, the essentials in democratic matters have been done, it remains to be deepened” (A. Menouni)
– What priorities?
“In a first sequence, the priority was to advance in the field of democracy, to build a state of law, to consolidate human rights, to turn the page of the past, to succeed in the experience of transitional justice.
From 2004-2006, priority has been given to major economic projects, major infrastructure works – roads, motorways, ports, airports – and the economy with a focus on agriculture, industry, alternative energies.
Today, the priority moves on the reduction of social, spatial, territorial inequalities, it is an enormous building site which requires a new model of development more sensitive to the imperative of social justice and a new territorial policy to which the regionalization Advanced will contribute strongly (O. Azziman).
– What changes?
“We are a country that since the advent of King Mohammed VI is both continuity and change: there has been no change of regime and there has been no break, the system remained the same by proving that he has a strong capacity to adapt to the evolution of time and society.
The main difference with the reign of Hassan II is that we have moved up a gear in the strategic choices, the action of the State, the conduct of public policies, the requirement of efficiency “( O. Azziman)
– What did the new Constitution of 2011 bring?
“The monarch had a central place in the previous Constitution, it still occupies a central place: it is the idea of continuity.In the past it occupied an indeterminate place with mobile and floating contours, today it occupies a definite place with a limited perimeter: the change is huge (O. Azziman)
“The new Constitution has provided opportunities for political parties to win more than before, but in fact, the expected change has not occurred, it may take time. (A. Menouni)
– Can we speak of a parliamentary monarchy?
“We are not in a monarchy of the type Spain or Netherlands where the monarch reigns but does not govern, we are in another type of monarchy but the attributions of the king are delimited” (O. Azziman)
“We are in the path of a parliamentary monarchy (…) but obviously, there may still be some provisions to perfect” (A. Menouni)