A blunt remark from Fouzi Lekjaa is rippling through Morocco’s political scene just three weeks before legislative elections. Addressing supporters of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) on Thursday in Ouled Nasser, a locality in the Fkih Ben Salah province, the former deputy minister for the Budget did not soften his language when tackling the sharp rise in red meat prices ahead of Eid al-Adha.
« We cannot accept Moroccans paying 150 or 160 dirhams for meat, » Lekjaa told the gathering, adding that those truly responsible for driving up prices deserve to be called « terrorists. » The blunt phrase spread quickly across Moroccan social media, drawing both applause from supporters frustrated with the cost of living and sharp pushback from critics.
Much of that criticism zeroed in on an apparent contradiction. Until recently, Lekjaa himself served as the government’s deputy minister in charge of the Budget, a post from which he oversaw and defended before parliament the state subsidy programme for imported sacrificial animals, a measure specifically designed to keep meat prices in check during the Eid season. Commentators online were quick to ask how the very official who managed that file for years can now denounce its outcome without acknowledging his own role.
Beyond the online storm, Lekjaa’s intervention fits into a broader repositioning effort by PAM ahead of the September 23 vote. He used the occasion to stress the need to strengthen household purchasing power, create jobs for young Moroccans, and ensure balanced regional development stretching « from Tangier to Guerguerat. »
The episode comes as PAM navigates a period of internal transition, following Aziz Akhannouch’s announced departure from the party leadership earlier this year and Lekjaa’s own arrival in the party’s ranks in July. Analysts see the reshuffle as an attempt to inject fresh political momentum into a party widely seen as central to the outcome of what promises to be a closely watched election season.
