Major challenges ahead for Morocco's Fatima El Mansouri-led government

The government under Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri in Morocco, expected to form soon, faces major internal and external challenges, putting it to a real test over its ability to manage complex political, social and economic issues that remained unresolved under previous governments.

The new government, which is expected to be announced in the coming days, will not face an easy road ahead. From its first day, it will face many pending and pressing issues that require solutions, at a time when the Moroccan public hopes it will meet their aspirations and address issues affecting their daily lives.

Mansouri appeared keen, moments after her royal appointment and being tasked with forming the government, to send messages to those concerned, stressing that she would work to "propose a government that meets the expectations of His Majesty the King and all Moroccan citizens, particularly young people".

"We will come with a programme that proposes real and realistic solutions," she added.

A question of confidence

As the formation of Morocco's new government occurs amid domestic and international anticipation, Abdelhafid Younsi, professor of constitutional law and political science at Hassan I University in Settat, argued that the first challenge for the Mansouri government remains political and concerns the question of confidence after a low voter turnout in the elections (38%) and some practices that harmed the electoral process by members of the party that will lead the government, namely the Authenticity and Modernity Party.

Younsi told The New Arab that, whatever the circumstances, the legitimacy of this government needs to be strengthened through achievements on the ground and their impact on citizens.

He also argued that state and society resources must be kept away from the exploitation of public office to accumulate wealth, or what is known as conflicts of interest.

According to the professor, the social challenge remains at a priority too, particularly improving purchasing power and making progress on health and education, which requires not only funding but primarily how public services are delivered, including citizens' dignity in Morocco and their sense of citizenship when accessing these services.

Younsi further said the growing proportion of young people in the population pyramid requires sustained and stable economic growth exceeding 5%.

"This is the third challenge, namely the economic dimension, which requires genuine competitiveness, moving away from monopolies and restoring vitality to national enterprises, all within the challenge of an unstable regional and international environment where uncertainty prevails," he added.

Rachid Lazraq, head of the North Africa Centre for Studies, Research and Public Policy Evaluation, said the Mansouri government will likely find itself facing the challenge of turning investment and growth dynamics in Morocco into employment opportunities and a tangible improvement in citizens' living standards.

The strength of public investment alone is not enough to address unemployment and low participation in the labour market, particularly among young people and women, he argued.

Moreover, Lazraq noted there is a need to maintain fiscal balances amid rising financing needs for major projects and infrastructure linked to the 2030 horizon, which includes completing reform of the social protection system, improving the business climate and increasing economic productivity, as well as addressing the cost of water stress and climate change on agriculture, food security and prices.

Morocco's social challenge

According to Lazraq, the main social challenge will be narrowing the gap between economic indicators and Moroccan families' daily perception of their standard of living and the quality of public services.

He told The New Arab that the government will be required to address unemployment, the high cost of living and difficulties accessing housing, and must also improve the quality of education and healthcare and reduce disparities between cities and rural areas and between regions, while ensuring the sustainability of the social protection programme and targeting vulnerable groups more effectively.

Lazraq argued that this issue will be highly sensitive because the success of social policies will not be measured only by the scale of public spending, but also by the extent to which spending directly affects household incomes, the quality of schools and hospitals, and young people's ability to obtain stable jobs and opportunities for social advancement.

Politically, the biggest challenge facing Mansouri, according to Lazraq, will be to build a coherent government majority capable of producing decisions and collectively taking responsibility for them, rather than merely assembling a numerical majority in parliament.

He explained that the next government in Morocco will need clear mechanisms for coordination among its parties, and need to link the government programme to measurable targets in employment, investment, public services and social protection, while managing high public expectations regarding the results of public policies.

For his part, Nabil Al-Andaloussi, head of the Maghreb Centre for Strategic Research and Studies, said the biggest test for the Mansouri government, if she succeeds in forming it, will not be the number of projects it announces but rather its ability to turn growth, investment and reforms into a tangible improvement in citizens' lives and to safeguard their dignity and rights.

Regarding the main challenges facing the expected government, Al-Andaloussi told The New Arab that they are concerned about its ability to restore trust between citizens and institutions, particularly after the elections and the debate surrounding their integrity and turnout.

He said the government must move from day-to-day management to a government with a clear political vision and defined priorities, capable of dealing with internal and external challenges.

He said the government faces a social challenge in how it deals with major issues such as employment, healthcare, raising living standards and addressing inflation, as well as reduce social and regional disparities, particularly between cities and rural and mountainous areas, in addition to the challenge of addressing rising living costs and protecting the purchasing power of the middle class and vulnerable groups.

Andaloussi also noted that the economic challenges require achieving economic growth that creates more jobs.

The government also faces a regional development challenge, according to him, through reducing disparities between regions and provinces, including meaningful substance to advanced regionalisation (granting broad powers to local regions), linking responsibility to accountability, and finding a fundamental solution to the problem of conflicts of interest, which had been a defining feature of the previous government's failure.

On the other hand, Al-Andaloussi said the government faces an external and diplomatic challenge through continuing to defend territorial integrity and Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara and strengthening diplomatic gains in this context.

He stressed the importance of managing relations with the European Union, the United States, Spain and France, while maintaining the independence of Moroccan decision-making, and also dealing with geopolitical changes in the Sahel, Mediterranean and North Africa, as well as maintaining balanced relations with international partners in a world that has become more competitive and tense.

For his part, political analyst Rachid Lamsalem said that, with Mansouri tasked with forming the government, her first major challenge will be the search for parties that share its main priorities for the electoral programme put forward by the Authenticity and Modernity Party, which focused on major economic and social reforms affecting broad sections of Moroccan society.

Lamsalem remarked to TNA that the incoming Mansouri government will face the challenge of approving social projects related to reforming the healthcare system, which is experiencing a shortage of medical staff and poor services, and the employment crisis, which is considered one of the major issues facing the government, as the unemployment rate is rising significantly, both among degree holders and those who have lost their jobs.

Lamsalem further said the incoming government will have to deal with choosing highly qualified ministers to address the most pressing issues, "since ministers in the previous government demonstrated weakness and an inability to produce public policies that respond to the needs of Moroccan citizens".

Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here.