NEW PJD LEADER MOVES QUICKLY TO REASSURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000688 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/23/2028 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KISL MO SUBJECT: NEW PJD LEADER MOVES QUICKLY TO REASSURE REF: STATE 00678 Classified By: Ambassador Thomas Riley for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: New PJD leader Abdelilah Benkirane moved quickly to reassure the nation, in a July 23 press conference, that he will not radicalize the Justice and Development Party (PJD) party. He said his agenda was economic not religious. Outside observers note his election as leader of the PJD may be more of a change in style than substance. The country's top academic expert on Islamic politics and the leader of Morocco's Jewish community separately held that view, contrasting Benkirane's rhetorically confrontational record with the more restrained mien of his predecessor Othmani. In an unprecedented letter of congratulations, King Mohammed VI praised the behavior of the former leader as an exemplar and laid out his expectation that Benkirane would follow in Othmani's footsteps. These impressions of continuity appear to be buttressed by the election of Othmani to the party's number 2 slot and retention of most of the old leaders in prominent positions. END SUMMARY ¶2. (C) On July 23, 2008, Polcouns and Poloff met with Hassan II University Political Science Professor Mohammed Darif in Casablanca to discuss the upset victory of Abdelilah Benkirane as leader of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) at its national Congress on July 20 (Ref). Darif did not consider Benkirane to represent a major change in substance for the PJD though his style is considered to be more religiously bombastic than his predecessor Saad Edine Othmani. Half alluding to Benkirane, Darif said that all politicians in the PJD use religion to mobilize the masses, but this does not mean that they do not respect the King, Islam, and the territorial integrity of Morocco. ¶3. (C) Polcouns later met separately with the Jewish community's leader, Serge Berdugo, who also is a roving ambassador for the King. Berdugo echoed Darif's assessment that the change will be in form, not substance. ¶4. (C) King Mohammed VI personally sent a letter of congratulations to Benkirane on his victory, in which he complimented the service of outgoing PJD Secretary General Othmani and voiced conviction that Benkirane would "pursue the same constructive course." He also praised Benkirane's "patriotism, political wisdom, deep commitment to the values of the Nation and its choice of democracy as the right path for the management of public affairs." Further, the King encouraged Benkirane to put the "supreme interests of the Nation and the just causes of the citizens above all other considerations." As icing on the cake, according to the PJD's own newspaper, King Mohammed VI also called Benkirane to personally congratulate him. ¶5. (C) Darif commented that the King's statements were likely intended to send two messages. The first was to show political continuity. It demonstrated the King's patriarchal stewardship over all Moroccans, including politicians, and also provided an opportunity for the King to signal his expectations to and of Benkirane within the national political arena. Darif suggested that the second message was to publicly contradict the anti-PJD messages of palace intimate Fouad Ali El-Himma, whose "Movement of All Democrats" (MTD) has been consistently anti-PJD (note: and more subtly anti-Istiqlal). ¶6. (C) Benkirane signaled his acceptance of the King's prescriptions by holding his first press conference as party leader declaring "the PJD was not a religious party but a political party with a religious reference." He said that the party was open to forming alliances or cooperative relations with other parties and participating in the government. Benkirane said that he wanted to focus on "everyday concerns rather than on a religious agenda," elaborating on the need for greater emphasis on economic and anti-corruption issues. ¶7. (C) Darif thought that press speculation about a potential alliance between the PJD and the Socialist Union of Popular Forces party (USFP) was exaggerated. At best, if the USFP left the government, it might find itself cooperating in the opposition with the PJD. ¶8. (C) Comment: By all accounts, the PJD's Congress was democratic and transparent, as intended by the 2006 electoral reform law. Sadly, most parties in Morocco do not replace their party leaders until they die or nearly so. The PJD appears to be winning adherents, even women, because it is less corrupt and more democratic than other parties. The policy corral drawn around the PJD by the King and the retention in leadership positions of the pragmatist Othmani and former Parliament Vice President Lahcen Daoudi support our interlocutors' conclusion that we may not see a turn for the worse for the PJD. Benkirane's first official statements as party chief appear to belie his hard-line reputation, even allowing for the possibility of greater pragmatism and engagement with other parties than his predecessor Othmani. The press conference was the first time that the PJD publicly defined itself as a political party like any other, thus, blunting critiques--like the MTD--that the party was Islamist (i.e., working toward the imposition of Sharia law),and possibly creating greater maneuver room for the PJD. Benkirane appears to be bending over backwards to make a good first impression. Only time will tell if he can sustain this posture. End comment. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ***************************************** Riley