Why should President Tebboune address the Algerian people?

We have not been plagued in Algeria by presidents who talk a lot, with or without a special occasion on which to do so, as is the case in some countries, if we exclude the short period after independence, during which Ahmed Ben Bella was president of the republic. Apart from him, all of our presidents have been sparing with their words, to the point of not talking for years, as was the case with Abdelaziz Bouteflika after his illness, although he had a strong tendency to talk a lot before then, taking advantage of his fluency in both Arabic and French.

The matter is completely different with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, a professional bureaucrat not known for having party or political experience through which he could have developed public speaking skills, whether in Arabic or French. His abilities are very modest, so much so that his communications are understandable and close to popular usage. Tebboune’s advisers are working hard to eliminate this natural way of speaking and bring it closer to classical Arabic, which the president cannot control and which the average citizen does not understand. That has been the case with most of our presidents, who were afflicted by the language policy applied in public schools. This made Tebboune choose to speak to citizens via pre-recorded TV broadcasts, during which silences emerged making the message seem cold and weak.

All of this is happening in a country where people rarely talk in their daily lives, and find it difficult to express what is on their minds and what they feel. It is an affliction affecting the political elites too, despite the many languages they can use, such as classical and colloquial Arabic, French and Amazigh. This situation may explain why we have not seen Tebboune take the initiative to address citizens after the series of international setbacks that Algeria has experienced regionally — the French recognition Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, for example — and the tension on our southern borders with Niger and Mali, as if we were satisfied with these two important issues for Algeria that are linked to each other.

The French position seemed to surprise Algeria.

The official response was confused and incomprehensible. It was initially expressed by official media outlets before it was referred to the President of the National Assembly, who spoke more like a liberation army fighter. The issue finally reached the Minister of Foreign Affairs in a press conference, which was not entirely successful, made more ambiguous by the type of questions asked by the journalists present, who are not qualified when it comes to international matters. They live and work in a media and political bubble that does not allow them to become a soft power defending Algeria’s interests and foreign policy. This is despite the many indicators telling us daily that the official French position was expected, not only with regard to France but also possibly other European countries such as Spain and Germany.

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If Donald Trump, who also supported Morocco on this issue, returns to the White House in January, such positions could develop and this may put Algeria in an unenviable position. At the beginning of what is presumed will be President Tebboune’s second term of office (the election is scheduled for 7 September), he is waiting to visit Paris to resolve many of the historical files pending between the two countries, at a time when the situation on the southern borders has become more complicated and internationalised. This was after strong indications suggested a military presence of the Russian Wagner Group near Algeria’s southern and eastern borders in the Sahel countries and Libya, which are experiencing chaos due to irregular migration, which affects Algeria directly as well as Tunisia and Mauritania. Moreover, terrorist groups have been operating in the region for years. These are not the only problems, as we have not yet addressed the failure of Algerian diplomacy while trying to join the BRICS organisation and what came with it in terms of a rift in Algeria’s relations with international powers with which it is supposed to be friendly, such as Russia and China. Algeria is, therefore, facing a dangerous regional and international situation.

This requires the intervention of the president through a speech to the nation as soon as possible.

He needs to reassure Algerians and explain what’s happening and the effects on national security, quite separate from the election campaign. This must take place alongside the initiation of a major national debate on foreign policy, which foreign observers and Algerians alike can see is ideologically stagnant and unable to adapt to rapid international changes.

This comes at a time when the far right is rising in Europe. Algeria has been unable to confront this challenge by connecting with political and social forces as it did before with the forces of the left in more than one European country. This far-right wave requires a renewal of Algeria’s defence and foreign policies, without denying the humanitarian and political values that Algeria has defended historically. In areas important to Algeria — the Arab region, for example — harassment by certain countries needs to be discussed in the public domain rather than by a silent approach.

The same applies to relations with the rest of Africa. It is time to change Algeria’s diplomacy which regards the continent as if it were a rigid, unchangeable political map. This is the case in current dealings with South Africa and Nigeria, which are politically close to Algeria. There is an exaggerated focus on the long term, which should not be the norm at a time when international relations are experiencing very rapid changes. This is why we need to hear from President Tebboune; why he should address the Algerian people; and why changes should follow without delay.

This article first appeared in Arabic in Al-Quds Al-Arabi on 4 August 2024

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