HIBAPRESS – Abdellatif Baraka
In a scene that was not entirely surprising, but did not lack question marks, the curtain fell last week on the 12th conference of the Socialist Union party in the city of Bouznika, with the re-election of Idriss Lachkar as First Secretary for a fourth term. However, what sparked controversy this time was not the result, but the "record" speed with which the conference was organized, as if the party was in a race against the clock. So what was really behind this haste? Was it a matter of consolidating ranks? Or a political maneuver to preempt an imminent law that might exclude eternal leaders from the party scene?
– A conference with a "pressure cooker" flavor
Anyone who followed the way the conference was prepared, especially the regional and organizational arrangements that took place within a few weeks, might imagine that it was an emergency or an urgent reaction to an internal breakdown that required quick reconciliation.
But the reality, as confirmed by unionist sources, reveals something else. The conference came like a quick dish on the fire of political pressure, not on the fire of calm party agreements after a number of elected officials and unionist militants boycotted its work for the first time.
The pace of regional and provincial conferences was accelerated, and some traditional formulas in preparation were bypassed, and many unionists were faced with a fait accompli: a "ready" conference rather than a "participatory" one. The question is: why?
– The Law of Limited Leadership… a Ghost Chasing "Sheikhs of the Zawiyas"
The answer may not be far from the legislative kitchen of the Ministry of Interior, which is preparing to propose a new draft law that is expected to cause an earthquake in the structure of party life. The draft law, as leaked from some sources, will set a ceiling on the number of terms of general secretaries and first secretaries in parties at only two terms, and will oblige party organizations to inject new blood into their leadership structures, in an effort to close the page of long-term leadership.
Here the fundamental question arises: Did Idriss Lachkar preempt the law, and seize a fourth term before the door was closed on him?
The hypothesis is not unlikely, especially since talk about this law has become serious, and is supported by an official will to restore confidence in political work, after a part of the Moroccan youth considers parties "private estates" that are inherited like property, and was the most important demands of the Z movement.
– A policy of running ahead?
In form, the conference may seem like an organizational victory for a man who is good at managing balances within his party, and has succeeded in securing the legitimacy to continue in leadership. But in terms of content, the way the conference was prepared raises deep questions about the extent to which parties are ready to actually renew themselves, and not just formally.
If the new law prevents the re-election of the leader after two terms, it means that Lachkar's fourth term may be the last by law, not by democratic circulation. And this paradox sums up a deeper crisis: parties are preempting reform instead of leading it.
– The political scene is on hot plate
Idriss Lachkar is not alone in the crosshairs of the "legislative radar". There are also Abdelilah Benkirane (Justice and Development) and Nabil Benabdallah (Progress and Socialism), who have lived long in leadership positions, and their names have become associated with parties more than their colors and slogans.
The next law will mean that the phase of "immortal leaders" is nearing its end. And the parties will have to rebuild their legitimacy through competencies, not through symbols.
– The decisive moment
What happened in Bouznika was not just an ordinary conference of an opposition party, but an event that reveals a conflict between two times: an old time that resists departure, and a new time that is trying to be born from the womb of stagnation.
Idriss Lachkar, with his political shrewdness, may have won a final round in the race, but the next law may write the end of the time of "open term," and put a period on the line of "Sheikhs."
And if this is only the beginning, then the Moroccan party scene is facing changes that will not be formal, but may change the balance of the game altogether.
