The strategy of the Algerian leaders aimed at diverting the attention of the population towards an invented conflict with Morocco, was noted in a long analysis by the British magazine The Economist. The media affirms that after the Hirak, today Algeria is in an even worse situation than under the Bouteflika era.
In an article entitled “Algerian leaders in difficulty fueling tensions with Morocco”, the British media draws up in a clear and limpid way the contours of the strategy of the Algerian leaders and considers that the “conflict” which opposes Algeria to Morocco It is only a smokescreen presented to the population to hide an illogical governance and to protect the “Issaba”.
“Algeria is doing badly,” says The Economist, which notes aberrations and irregularities in the decision-making field of the country, which turns its gaze away from development opportunities to concentrate its efforts only on Morocco.
“They can hope that a crisis with the neighbors will divert attention from the problems at home”, noted the reference media in Great Britain drawing up a clear observation that the rivalry between the two countries comes from the Algerian side.
And to come back to the national Hirak movement in 2019 which precipitated the fall of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika (who had been pushed by the generals to run for a 5th term when he had been reduced by a stroke since 2014) .
The Hirak succeeded in overthrowing Abdelaziz Bouteflika after 20 years in power, and the demonstrators were hoping to see a real democracy emerge in the country. “Instead, his fall only formalized the reign of power, a clique of gray men who ruled the country from the shadows throughout Bouteflika’s reign”, retorts The Economist.
“They haven’t done much to reform an underground economy (gas and oil rents, editor’s note) or fight corruption. Unemployment is around 12%, and is higher for young people. Inflation reached 8.5% last year,” criticizes the media.
Meanwhile, Algerian leaders are wallowing in arms purchase deals. With a defense budget of 9.1 billion dollars, Algeria is the sixth largest importer of weapons in the world, and the purchase of weapons represents more than 5% of its GDP, indicates the same source. And to explain that “the Algerians seem less inclined to conflict than their leaders”.
Young people in Algeria prefer their government to focus on jobs and the economy rather than threatening and clashing with their neighbor Morocco, the publication points out.
Instead of fueling tensions with Morocco, Algeria should take advantage of the opportunity of this new international situation of energy crisis linked to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, advises the British media.
“It should be a time of optimism for the tenth largest producer of natural gas in the world”, is surprised the author of the article, who recalls that Europeans are seeking to stop their dependence on Russian energy by seeking new suppliers.
“As the continent’s third largest supplier (and 80% of its hydrocarbon exports going to Europe, editor’s note), it (Algeria) should invest in new capacities to produce and transport more products. Instead, it threatens to send less” to Spain to punish it for its rapprochement with Morocco, notes the same source.
Spain still receives Algerian exports via a smaller undersea pipeline that bypasses Morocco, after the largest gas pipeline, the GME, was shut down by Algeria, the author recalls, continuing that last month , Algeria has also threatened to close the second gas pipeline, after Morocco asked Spain to send it gas by reversing the flow of the now inactive Morocco-Spain Gas Pipeline (GME).
The Economist recalls that the decision to close the GME by Algeria is linked to the dispute over the Sahara, where, “Morocco has gained ground both militarily and diplomatically”.
“Algeria said it would stop all gas exports to Spain if it did,” the publication said. “Maybe it’s bluster: Algeria doesn’t want to lose the Spanish money. Either way, Algeria’s incendiary rhetoric has a lot to do with its troubled domestic politics,” continues The Economist.
For the author of the article, the “crisis with Morocco is a way to rally increasingly frustrated Algerians”, but “well-connected Algerians say that the confrontation with their neighbor could even tip into war” .
In addition, he recalls that despite Algeria’s aggression towards Morocco, “King Mohammed VI tried to lower the temperature last year, calling for dialogue in his annual throne speech. But Algeria seems less inclined to reconciliation.
Algerian leaders have “even blamed Morocco for the devastating fires of last summer”, noted the news site, which provides a historical reading of the events that led to this difficult relationship between the two countries, focusing on the Algeria’s support for the Polisario separatist militia.
“In the 1970s, Algeria began to support the Polisario Front, a guerrilla group seeking independence for the Sahara” formerly colonized by Spain and then returned to Morocco in 1975 following the Green March, explains The Economist who links the Sahara dossier to the closure of the GME gas pipeline and to Algeria’s “incendiary” decisions.
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