Coinciding with the opening of the first session of the fifth legislative year of the eleventh legislative term today, Friday, the nature of the royal discourse in Morocco returns to the fore again, not only as a supreme directive tool; Rather, it is a mirror that reflects the relationship between the royal institution and political actors.
Hespress put the royal speeches delivered by King Mohammed VI after the 2011 constitution under the microscope of data analysis, in an attempt to answer the question: What are the king’s messages to politicians in general? The analysis included 55 speeches delivered by the king on national occasions, and excluded those linked to global and regional events.
The first result that Hespress reached in its analysis was that the king addressed politicians of all kinds: government and parties, majority and opposition, in about 70 percent of the speeches studied, an indication of the centrality of political affairs in the interest of King Mohammed VI, and of his keenness to track their performance with criticism at times and guidance at other times.
During various occasions, such as “Throne Day” and “Opening of Parliament,” the king is not content with reminding himself of his responsibilities; Rather, on every occasion, he resets the political compass through speeches that combine evaluation, accountability, and correction, as the analysis shows that the critical dimension is strongly present in more than a third of these speeches, sometimes reaching the point of questioning “the usefulness of institutions if the people are in one valley and the officials in another” (Speech from the Throne 2017), or warning against “riding on the nation to settle narrow partisan scores” (Speech from the Throne 2016).
This critical language that characterized the royal speeches raises fundamental questions about the extent to which the political class interacts with its contents, and the extent of its willingness to translate these directives into realistic policies. It also opens the door to a broader discussion about the limits of political responsibility under continuous royal guidance, and about whether speeches have become a recurring corrective function that reflects a slowness in absorbing royal messages.
The centrality of the political actor
Hespress’s analysis shows the centrality of the role played by political actors in the interests of the royal institution, as in nearly 70 percent of these speeches, specifically 69.09 percent of them, the king addressed his speech directly to politicians with their various affiliations and roles, whether they were representatives of political parties, members of the government, or affiliated with the banner of the majority or the opposition.
This focus confirms that the political performance of institutions and parties remains at the core of the concerns of the royal discourse, and constitutes a fundamental focus for guidance and follow-up. This highlights the king’s pivotal role in supervising the course of national political action after the important constitutional reforms, according to what specialists confirm.
Hafid al-Yonsi, professor of political science, stressed that “based on the constitution, the king is the head of state. Chapter 42, in particular, specifies his constitutional roles in the relationship with various authorities and institutions.”
Al-Younesi explained, in a statement to Hespress, that these “roles take on a presidential dimension, ensuring the continuation of the state and the protection of rights and freedoms.”
The professor specializing in political science added, “Royal speeches and messages had a special character with King Mohammed VI, mainly in terms of quantity.”
Two parallel platforms
King Mohammed VI’s messages addressed to political actors are distributed on specific national occasions. Data analysis reveals that the Parliament opening speech and the Sukkot Day speech share the largest percentage of these directives, at 34 percent each.
This balance confirms that the king takes advantage of the most prominent legislative platform in the country (the opening of Parliament) to communicate directly with the nation’s representatives. He also takes advantage of the occasion of Throne Day, which carries major historical and national dimensions, to present his visions and strategic directions to the political class.
In addition, the occasion of the revolution of the king and the people accounts for 18 percent of these speeches; While the Green March attracts 13 percent of them.
Abdul Rahim Al-Allam, a researcher in political science, confirmed that the royal speeches contain in their content directives for government action, whether it is related to identifying priority sectors or strengthening specific areas. Such as water, governance, investment, and other issues that were the direct subject of royal directives that affected the work of the government.
Al-Allam added, in a statement to Hespress, that “the parliament’s opening speech is not devoid of signals and directives, even though parliament is an independent institution,” pointing out that the royal speeches addressed multiple issues; Such as encouraging political participation, combating partisan opportunism, limiting the use of money in elections, calling for a fair distribution of wealth, encouraging the involvement of women, and activating regulatory laws.
What the researcher specializing in political science talked about is what was confirmed by the Hespress analysis. Among the speeches concerned with political affairs, the King addressed 43 percent of them to the executive authority (the government). In second place are the political parties (majority and opposition) with a rate of 28 percent, while the legislative authority (Parliament) ranks third with a rate of 26 percent. In contrast, the category of elected officials and local councils comes in at 4 percent; Which indicates that the primary focus is on the higher political and administrative levels.
In this regard, Al-Alam said, “All these data confirm that the king has an actual presence in the executive field, whether through constitutional texts or through interpretations. His speeches and directives also remain influential in drawing up public policies and directing government work.”
Guidance is progressing
Data analyzing royal letters addressed to political actors show a diversity in the nature of these letters, with directive messages topping the list at 52 percent; This confirms the pioneering role of the Royal Institution in supervising and providing visions.
However, the strong presence of cash stands out, as implicit cash came in second place at 18 percent, followed by direct cash at 17 percent; Which indicates that the royal discourse does not hesitate to evaluate political performance at its various levels. The letters also included diagnostic messages at a rate of 11 percent, while the percentage of praise was the lowest at 2 percent.
The analysis shows that the critical dimension in royal speeches addressed to political actors gained an important and influential space. When the percentages of direct criticism (17 percent) and implicit criticism (18 percent) are combined, it becomes clear that a total of 35 percent of these speeches included a critical assessment of the performance of the political class.
This large volume confirms that the royal speech is not limited to positive guidance; Rather, it adopts a strict strategy of accountability and correction.
The map of criticism in royal speeches shows that “political action as a whole” is the largest target with 38 percent of the criticism directed at political actors. Which confirms that criticism goes beyond a specific institution or party to affect the general political system.
“Party work” comes in second place, at 31 percent. This reflects the focus on the need to reform and activate the role of parties. The issue of “lack of political responsibility” also received a significant amount of criticism, at 22 percent. While the focus of criticism on “parliamentary work” and “elected councils” was limited.
Al-Younesi commented on the subject of criticism, saying: “Unfortunately, the political class in general does not deal seriously enough with the contents of these speeches,” adding that “the original content of royal speeches is binding on all institutions, and law enforcement institutions must be careful to track the content of these speeches.”
In this regard, Al-Allam pointed out that the royal speeches included indirect responses to statements or positions issued by the government or some ministers. He mentioned, for example, the responses to the statements of Abdelilah Benkirane, the former Prime Minister, or the communication issued to the Royal Court after the statements of Mohamed Nabil Benabdellah.
Excerpts from royal speeches reflect the extent of direct criticism, as they included strict warnings against “riding on the nation to settle personal scores, or to achieve narrow partisan goals” (Throne Speech 2016). It also reached the point of questioning the usefulness of institutions if “the people and their concerns are in a valley.”[المسؤولون] In another valley” (Throne Speech 2017), stressing the need for serious political bodies to stand “by the citizens, in good times and in bad” (Throne Speech 2018).
In conclusion, Al-Younesi said: “Seriousness [التي تحدث عنها الملك] It means that the elites in our country are entrusted with the country… Therefore, the public interest must be given priority over individual, party, or sectarian interests, in order to ensure political unity and strengthen the internal front in the face of various dangers.”
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