Morocco: Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri appointed Prime Minister

A historic appointment with its downside. The legislative elections in Morocco, Sunday September 27, resulted in an unprecedented situation in the country. For the first time, the King of Morocco has appointed a woman as head of government, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri or "FZM", as the country's media call her.

The new head of government is, however, far from being an unknown personality for Moroccans. A lawyer by training, she entered politics in 2008 when she joined the PAM (Authenticity and Modernity Party) in line with the king, the party she has led since 2024 and which won the legislative elections. “This is a truly historic moment,” she declared immediately after being appointed by King Mohammed VI. The new Prime Minister knows what she is talking about. Already, in 2009, she was the first woman elected mayor of Marrakech, after an election which was however contested.

It is in 2026, at the age of 50, that she becomes Prime Minister. However, her mission promises to be very difficult because some of the files she will have to handle are delicate. Poisoned gifts are indeed slipping behind this historic nomination, with several pitfalls to be avoided. The first being constitutional: Fatima El Mansouri does not have an absolute majority, her party won less than 100 seats out of the 395 in the House of Representatives. She will therefore have to come together within a coalition in order to pass her texts. Especially since on strategic subjects, the line that cannot be discussed remains that of the king.

The other concern and main project that the new government will have to address is social, with a series of data which shows the extent of the subject. Unemployment is on the rise, prices are soaring, inequalities are widening and confidence in the political system is decreasing, particularly among young people who shun the ballot box, but not the streets. A problem already observed at the end of July with the crisis in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave taken over by migrants and young Moroccans.

This complex situation is accompanied by campaign promises that Fatima El Mansouri will have to honor. A lot of things were said during the campaign and the PAM party promised dreams. Promise to create a million jobs, that of reducing retirement pensions to 3,000 dirhams (270 euros), free electricity bills for the most disadvantaged or even that of a minimum wage of 5,000 dirhams compared to 3,500 today... The list does not stop there, with the certainty noted by many economists that not everything will be possible.

Fatima El Mansouri will have to be wary of the disappointment of the Moroccans because the Islamists are in ambush. They went from 13 seats to 54 in the last election.