RABAT: King Mohammed VI of Morocco has urged the conservative Istiqlal party to go back on a decision to pull out from the Islamist-led government, a spokesman for the party said yesterday.
Istiqlal’s national council, the main ally of the ruling Islamists, announced on Saturday it was pulling out of the government over its failure to shore up the economy and solve dire social issues.
Overnight the king, who is on a private visit abroad, telephoned Istiqlal party chief Hamid Chabat “to exhort him to keep our ministers in the government,” party spokesman Adil Benhamza said.
“We will ask our ministers to carry on with current affairs until the king returns home,” he added.
Istiqlal holds several ministerial portfolios including education and the economy, and its decision to quit the cabinet could mean a general election or a cabinet reshuffle by the government headed by the moderate Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD).
On Saturday, Istiqlal’s national council criticised head of the government, Abdelilah Benkirane, for failing to take “into consideration the gravity of the social and economic situation”.
Istiqlal also said Benkirane, head of the PJD, was “monopolising decisions at the centre of government.” But after the telephone conversation between the king and Chabat, Istiqlal said that its executive committee has taken note of this “extremely important development”.
AFP
