Military tightens its grip in Algeria with cabinet reshuffle
The army chief Said Chengriha has been given a role in Algeria’s government in a cabinet reshuffle that expands the military’s power over the country and raises doubts over the true independence of government, according to TheArabWeekly.
As part of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s cabinet reshuffle on November 18th, the seemingly omnipotent Chengriha was promoted to minister delegate to the minister of defence, the first time Tebboune has given a military leader a job inside his government.
Chengriha’s continual shadowing of the president has bestowed him the appearance of second head-of-state, with suspicions restrained only by the officially intact separation between the civilian government and the military – until now.
The Army Chief of Staff can now attend cabinet meetings and directly debate government legislature in addition to his role as head of the armed forces.
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Other commentators suggest Tebboune’s move might be a tactical promotion with goal to bring Chengriha under closer surveillance in order to better control him.
The close relationship between the president and the head of the army has been the source of much speculation for decades, with President Benjedid submitting his resignation in the 1990s after intense pressure was put on him from his then minister of defence, General Khaled Nezzar, supported by military leaders.
Some believe the resignation of President Bouteflika in 2019 was a disguised coup led by General Gaid Salah.
Bouteflika had in fact promoted Salah, then head of the army, to deputy minister of defence before his departure, fueling the feeling of history repeating itself today.
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Among President Tebboune’s other cabinet revisions was the appointment of the Court of Algiers General Prosecutor Lotfi Boudjemaa to Justice Minister, another suspect move given Boudjemaa’s career in the judicial arm, according to TheNational.
Oddly, while Tebboune had accepted the official resignation of his government, he decided to renew his confidence in Prime Minister Nadir Larbaoui and many cabinet ministers, who kept their current departments.
The new government is actually larger, with the Trade Ministry being split into the Ministry for Domestic Trade and Market Control and the Ministry for Foreign Trade and Export Promotion.
TheArabWeekly and TheNational
