Islamist Spring in Morocco, or a Gattopardo''s Effect

Notes internacionals CIDOB, núm. 47

The landslide win of the Islamist Parti de la Justice et du Développement (PJD) in Morocco’s parliamentary elections in November 2011 has been followed with great interest and some concern by many of Morocco’s neighbours, both inside and outside the Arab World. The leader of the winning political party, Abdelilah Benkirane, was subsequently appointed Prime Minister - breaking the long-held practice that lets the King appoint an own or preferred candidate for the position. Only a year ago, both events -the victory of the Islamists and the appointment of Mr Benkirane as PM-, were widely held to be unthinkable scenarios. But real change has not seemed to take ground and one can imagine this to be a Tomasi di Lampedusa Gattopardo's effect, where everything is set to change in order it all remains the same.

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