Tipping the Balance

After two years of independence, the kingdom of Morocco is still without a constitution or an elected parliament; but power does not rest in the hands of King Mohammed V alone. The government has in effect been run by an uneasy coalition between the King, who became a national hero after the French made the mistake of exiling him in 1953. and the ultra-nationalist Istiqlal Party, which led the agitation for independence. Recognizing Istiqlal strength, Mohammed filled his Cabinet with Istiqlal men but chose as first Premier pro-Western Si M'Barek ben Mustapha el Bekkai, a man without a party. Fortnight ago, at 4:30 one morning, the King had to summon Si Bekkai to his palace and proclaim his government dissolved.

The trouble arose over the promise of a series of local elections. A group of anti-Istiqlal Berber leaders and wealthy independents petitioned the Premier for guarantees of "democratic freedoms" against the arbitrary electioneering tactics they feared the powerful Istiqlal might use. When the Premier sent the petition on to the King, the Istiqlal members of the government resigned in a body. The King had no alternative but to dismiss the Premier.

Last week, after waiting for heads to cool, King Mohammed announced that Si Bekkai's replacement would be Foreign Minister Ahmed Balafrej, 49, a suave and moderate Cairo-and Sorbonne-educated lawyer. He belongs to the Istiqlal, and so does every member of the new government except for one Jew, who represents the Jewish community. Full of their new power, the Istiqlal seemed bent on proving the accusations against them. "Those who conspire against the unity and security of the nation," rumbled the Istiqlal daily Al Alam, "as well as those who cooperated in the past with foreign hands know that the time of using freedom and democracy as a front to demolish everything that has been accomplished is over."

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