Rumours of problems in King Mohammed VI (M6)'s marriage to Princess Lalla Salma (née Bennani) have persisted for years and the couple are now separated after 17 years although few details have emerged...
This led to a letter of protest from the Palace's French lawyer Eric Dupond-Moretti saying 'King Mohammed VI and his ex-wife Lalla Salma jointly' called such rumours 'intolerable'...
Algeria's diffuse protest movement is called hirak a term more familiar in Morocco where the Hirak al Shaabi ('Popular Movement') emerged from protests in Al Hoceima two years ago to spread to Rabat and other cities and shook the establishment despite action by King Mohammed VI to meet protestors' concerns (AC Vol 60 No 2 Anger and innovation & Vol 58 No 12 Rif in revolt)...
These trends will continue the pattern established since late 2016 when King Mohammed VI ('M6') returned from a lengthy stay abroad to take firmer control of domestic politics five years after the Arab Spring (AC Vol 58 No 2 Benkirane's 'bras de fer')...
The state-owned Office chérifien des phosphates (OCP) whose board is headed by King Mohammed VI exports 32% of its phosphate to the EU – equivalent to over $1...
Another senior minister – one of the most respected members of the coalition government led by Prime Minister Saad Eddine el Othmani's Islamist Parti de la justice et du développement (PJD) – has been sacked by King Mohammed VI (M6) in a fit of 'colère royale' (royal anger)...
Vol 59 No 13 |
- MOROCCO
- ECOWAS
In spite of a sustained lobbying effort by King Mohammed VI the bid seems run into the sand (AC Vol 58 No 25 Courtship and crackdowns)...
King Mohammed VI (M6) has invested a huge amount of political capital – and the biggest Moroccan banks and corporations' money – in making one of Africa's most notable strategic pivots of recent years: changing his kingdom's traditional focus on Europe the Maghreb and the Arab world to seeing the future rooted in Morocco's sub-Saharan business social and political connections...
UN is alone in seeing hope in the western Sahara Algeria's unquestioned support for the Polisario Front liberation movement in the Western Sahara has increased as a result of King Mohammed VI's energetic self-promotion in sub-Saharan Africa...
Moroccans are now used to King Mohammed VI (M6) leading the kingdom's drive to become a political and economic heavyweight in Africa...
End of the empty chair Despite the kingdom's militant refusal to recognise the Polisario Front King Mohammed VI of Morocco sat across the table from Polisario representatives in Abidjan at the African-European summit...