Moroccan opposition denounces PJD

Hamid Chabat, Secretary General of Morocco’s conservative Istiklal party, has accused Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane of failing to build upon major policy workshops implemented by Abbas El Fassi’s previous government. Chabat, who succeeded El Fassi as the Istiklal Party’s Secretary General last September, said: "The government has not launched any new workshops in the past year.” Benkirane’s Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) rose to power in the 2011 general elections. Chabat's party remains the backbone of a governing coalition that also includes the Party of Progress and Socialism and the liberal Popular Movement. Following his election to party leadership, Chabat issued a contentious 30-page memorandum rebuking Benkirane’s government. He threatened to withdraw from the coalition should the Prime Minister decline to immediately amend his policies and overhaul his cabinet. On Thursday, Chabat criticised the current government’s sluggishness and unwillingness to engage in social dialogue. He pressured Benkirane to initiate a national discussion of budget and pension issues. The Istiklal leader also chastised Moroccan media, saying: "The media has focused on the 6 lines of my statement that called for a government reshuffle, neglecting 1000 lines that addressed other important issues, such as curbing electricity and food price inflation.” Chabat underlined his party’s longstanding commitment to Moroccan national sovereignty. He vindicated the previous Istiklal government, claiming that El Fassi had “done what he could,” especially given the royal stranglehold on government that preceded King Mohammed VI’s 2011 constitutional reforms. The Istiklal Party emerged in the 1940’s as the major political force in the struggle for independence from French colonialism.