In late May, the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that diplomat Tarek Ben Salem would be the new Secretary-General of the Arab Maghreb Union.
His appointment is noteworthy for two reasons. First, this is a choice based on administrative and technical capabilities and will benefit the union in this respect. Second, it is a settlement position, allowing each party to claim a victory from the process. Alas, this ensures that the union’s existence and relevance remain minimal.
The appointment garnered widespread attention across the Maghreb due to its context. A month earlier, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had called for the establishment of a North African bloc. That bloc would have comprised Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya (omitting Algeria’s main rival, Morocco). Yet the idea soon floundered. Mauritania dissented, calling it a “divisive option”. Morocco, meanwhile, considered it a direct challenge.
No-one’s victory
Politically and diplomatically, Tarek Ben Salem’s appointment has been interpreted as the quiet burial of Algeria’s initiative. It is also being seen as confirmation of the union’s continuation in its current format and with its five-member composition: Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Mauritania.
Morocco cleverly marketed the appointment as a reshuffling of cards, thereby seemingly validating its opposition to any Algerian-led parallel bloc. Rabat now claims success at dismantling the nascent Tunisian-Algerian-Libyan alliance.
Yet diplomats see this as neither a Moroccan victory, nor an Algerian defeat, nor a Tunisian “submission”, as was claimed by some. High-level sources told Al Majalla that the proposal to appoint Tarek Ben Salem was made over a year ago but was delayed by Moroccan reservations. Rabat had been insisting on Taieb Baccouche, an ally (and an Algerian adversary).
