The Algerian candle went out even before Marco Rubio could gather his breath to blow it out. Admittedly, this is a bit poetic, but behind all this lies a real diplomatic misery. Let’s start with the facts.
Act 1. President-elect Donald Trump appointed Marco Rubio to the State Department. Rubio is well known in Algeria since he asked, in a letter, for the current Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, to sanction the country for its support of Russia. This issue caused a major stir among the Algerian military and their presidency.
Act 2. The Algerians lashed out at Marco Rubio with their usual insults. It’s a specialty of the regime's media and influencers.
Act 3. Two years later, Algeria is participating in the Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. And indeed, there is a letter sent by President Abdelmajid Tebboune, which will be read on his behalf by Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf. What did he propose to his peers? A total embargo by all participating countries on Israel.
Act 4. Forty-eight hours after this letter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the president's statements. Who spoke of an embargo? Did anyone hear anyone speak of an embargo? Silence. No one knows. On Algeria’s official radio, the Foreign Ministry’s denial reads: "The Algerian declaration at the Riyadh Summit does not, in any way or form, call for a reissue of the 1973 Arab embargo.”
Act 5. Observers, who are neither deaf nor handicapped, replayed the video of Minister Attaf's statement. And here, there’s no doubt about it—he did indeed speak of an embargo on Israel.
Now we ask ourselves why all this panic from a regime that considers itself a regional power. What is it so afraid of?
Normally, a power is recognized by the consistency of its diplomatic positions, among other things. This is, in fact, Morocco’s strength. When it says something, we are forced to believe it.
But here we find ourselves facing a puzzling oddity. In Algeria, it’s not unusual for an 8:00 AM decision to be disavowed at 9:00 AM. This has even become the norm.
And when it comes to Donald Trump’s United States, there’s trembling, chattering teeth, and swearing on the martyrs’ honor that none of it is true, that it’s all the work of a classic enemy… and so on, the usual routine.
The Algerian government now has to think about how to get through the next four years of Trump’s term. And maybe even beyond, as the new president doesn’t rule out the idea of another term. Anything is possible in America.
What does all this mean? Quite simply, that if Algeria wants to live in peace with itself, embark on a genuine development process, and solve its many economic and social problems of underdevelopment, it has only one choice, and indeed a very easy one: reconcile with Morocco.
One can easily imagine that many Algerians agree. The problem is that the government is not transparent. We don’t really know who’s in charge. The president’s letter to the Arab-Islamic summit demonstrated this once again.
And to finish, "Marco” is an anagram of "Morocco.” When the stars align, they really align.