The PJD lowers its tone but maintains its stance on Israel

Morocco's Royal Court earlier this week reprimanded the Justice and Development Party (PJD) for interfering in the Kingdom's foreign policy decisions with its criticism of Israel. The Islamists' secretary general had accused the Foreign Minister of 'defending' the 'Zionist entity' in his diplomatic functions.  

Abdelilah Benkirane accused him of having promoted regional cooperation between Morocco, the European Commission and Israel in a meeting with the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi. 

The Royal Court came to the defence of Nasser Bourita, the architect of Moroccan diplomacy and executor of orders from the palace. Foreign policy is the prerogative of King Mohammed VI, according to the Constitution. Hence, the criticism of Benkirane, who was prime minister until 2016, was perceived as an explicit criticism of the monarch and not so much of the Foreign Minister.

"First of all: Morocco's position on the Palestinian question is irreversible and constitutes one of the priorities of the foreign policy of His Majesty the King, Amir Al-Mouminine and Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, which places it on the same level as the territorial integrity of the Kingdom. This is Morocco's consistent position of principle, which cannot be subjected to political bidding and narrow electoral campaigns," began the statement issued by the Royal Cabinet. 

The text underlined that the Kingdom's diplomacy "cannot be subject to blackmail by anyone and for any reason, especially in this complex global context". "The instrumentalisation of the Kingdom's foreign policy for a domestic partisan agenda is therefore a dangerous and unacceptable precedent," the statement said, referring to the Islamist formation. 

In a statement issued on Facebook, the secretary general of the PJD denied "everything that can be understood in his aforementioned report to fall within the constitutional competences of His Majesty the King and his strategic roles". They recognised the constitutional prerogatives of Mohamed VI and said, moreover, that he would not stray from the path set out in the Magna Carta.

At the same time, the PJD reinforced its position on Israel: "The party does not deviate from the constant and frequent positions of the party in support of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people and the rejection of normalisation, which the party expresses constantly and on all occasions through the institutions and organs of the party". The criticism, the communiqué argues, is "within the framework of national consensus, which occurs in the context of the party's direct interaction with the statements of the foreign minister, as a member of the government, like other colleagues in the government, subject to criticism and monitoring on the basis of its programme".

Morocco normalised relations with Israel in December 2020. It did so in the framework of the Abraham Accords, hand in hand with other Arab countries such as the Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. In Rabat's case, the decision was taken as a bargaining chip to unlock US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. At the time, the PJD was the country's leading political force and its secretary general, Saadeddine Othmani, was head of government. 

Othmani put up no resistance to an agreement endorsed by the Palace, specifically by King Mohammed VI, Master of Foreign Policy by virtue of his constitutional prerogatives. Benkirane, who was prime minister between 2011 and 2016, denied any responsibility of the PJD in the deal.  

"We have supported King Mohamed VI in the national cause. We defend our homeland as we defend the Palestinians. We should not blame Saadeddine Othmani for signing the tripartite declaration," he said on his Facebook account about what he described as a sacrifice to "resolve" the Sahara issue. But the damage to his base had already been done.  

The normalisation of relations with Israel unravelled the Islamist party, which was founded on the principle of defending the Palestinian cause. This was compounded by the wear and tear of having led every coalition government since the 2011 constitutional reform. "If there is one thing that all political movements that eventually come to power have in common, especially when they are structured by a strong ideology, it is the spectre of disenchantment," French political scientist Haoues Seniguer told Saphir News.

These reasons led it irreversibly towards the electoral landslide of September 2021.  

The Islamist formation lost a whopping 113 seats in that vote. It went from 125 seats out of 395 to just 12, which led to a massive drain of cadres and militants. Since then, the PJD has been seeking to regain its identity. This was partly demonstrated by Abdelilah Benkirane's return to the general secretariat after Othmani's resignation.  

The historic Islamist leader wants to capitalise on the discontent against Aziz Akhannuch's government and resuscitate a party at a low ebb. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to rearm the party in ideological terms, a party that has been moulded after its time in the institutions.