Moroccan Political Leaders Clash Over Economic Legacy and Development

"He (Aziz Akhannouch, Ed.) said that nothing was done in ten years, but I tell him that if we had not done what we did, you would not have been able to do anything today. It is we who reformed the Compensation Fund on fuel so that you can now find the necessary funds to deal with the current crises," retorted Abdelilah Benkirane during his speech on Saturday at the National Forum of Regional and Provincial Secretaries of the Lamp party, held at its central headquarters in Rabat.

He is more on the attack. "The disorder we found in the country and the strikes we put an end to, the pension reform... Why did you applaud El Othmani if you really found nothing when you came to lead the government? When you were Minister of Agriculture (for nearly 14 years, 10 of them under PJD-led governments), why didn’t you say anything?" wondered the former head of government.

He in turn accuses the successor of Saâdeddine El Othmani of a plot that "began when there was a government in Morocco that shook up political life." "The one who led the plot against the head of government (editor’s note, of the time), is the one who is now leading the government, but he did not have the courage to do it on the first day," continued the Islamist leader, prophesying that Aziz Akhannouch "will not succeed in this plot."

"I’m not going to ask you to leave, but I just ask you to have a little decency," he also assured, also saying that he had intervened in favor of the current head of government when he was in office with King Mohammed VI, regarding the Chtouka-Aït Baha desalination plant.