Besieged by Protests, Algerian Leader Vows to Fix Ailing Economy
Winner of a Presidential Vote Few Wanted in Algeria Takes Over
(Bloomberg) -- A regime insider elected in a vote widely rejected by Algerians vowed to embark on a broad offensive to turn round an ailing economy, as he sought to appeal to a young, disgruntled majority who have shown no signs of abandoning their protest movement.
Shortly after taking the oath of office on Thursday, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who briefly served as premier in 2017 and held a series of other government posts over a 45-year career, pledged to reform the tax system, tap renewable energy sources and draw in investments.
He said the moves would turn a “new page” and heal divisions that had wracked the OPEC member even before Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s resignation as president in April.
“Algeria, in these sensitive times, needs to organize its priorities,” Tebboune told a chamber packed with officials, including the military’s top brass. He later appointed a new interim prime minister, Sabri Boukadoum, and fired the interior minister.
The moves signaled a fresh bid to quell the more than eight months of protests that have continued since Bouteflika resigned under pressure from demonstrators. Last week’s presidential vote that saw Tebboune elected was widely written off by Algerians, who deemed the five candidates as little more than backers of the old regime they’re insisting must cede power.
Tebboune, 74, who also served as housing minister, has previously called for dialogue with protesters and urged a new start. The energy-rich North African nation’s economic fortunes have faced major challenges after the fall in the price of oil from 2014 forced the government to dip into its foreign reserves to sustain subsidies largely credited with keeping the peace.
The new premier, 61-year-old Boukadoum, replaces Noureddine Bedoui, who resigned, local media reported. Both Bedoui and dismissed Interior Minister Salah Eddine Dahmoune were especially unpopular among Algeria’s protesters.
Tebboune’s win came after the country’s powerful army chief stressed that the presidential ballot was the only way to avoid chaos in Algeria, which experienced a ruinous 1990s civil war. Turnout for the presidential vote was 39.9%, the lowest in the country’s history, signaling Tebboune will struggle to win the public’s confidence. More than half the population of 43 million are under 30.
Even as he pledged dialogue, there were signs a crackdown that’s mainly targeted opposition figures will continue. On Thursday, a court in Algiers jailed a 25-year-old activist, Mohamed Tadjadit, who’d gained fame for poems he published on social media criticizing authorities. He received 18 months on charges of threatening national unity, according to local media.
Tebboune called on all Algerians to make sacrifices for their nation, holding up as an example those killed in the liberation war against France and the 1990s civil war. He also took care to give the requisite nod to the country’s powerful military and the army chief of staff, Ahmed Gaid Salah, to whom he awarded another medal as his first act in office.
He promised to enact constitutional reform that would reduce the power of the presidency and give more clout to legislators.
In addition, he stressed that the tax code must be revised, the economy diversified and imports limited to the necessary minimum to preserve currency reserves. In the key energy sector, Algeria needs to focus more on renewable sources and expand its markets in Asia and Europe, Tebboune said.
“Help me. Support me” so that Algeria reaches its goals, the new president pleaded.
--With assistance from Salah Slimani.
To contact the reporters on this story: Tarek El-Tablawy in Cairo at teltablawy@bloomberg.net;Souhail Karam in Rabat at skaram10@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Mark Williams
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