The Arab Spring took the country by surprise bringing regime change in Tunisia and Libya while Morocco surfed safely on the wave through a constitutional reform. Algeria instead opted for oil money handout via wage hikes and a generous subsidies policy that is now backfiring. Meanwhile it hosted a meeting of the countries bordering Libya, which ended in no deal as conferences on Libya multiply. International observers consider that Algeria is too busy handling its domestic unrest issues and economic red lights making any mediation in Libya a burden that it can’t afford to carry. “Arguably Tebboune’s greater challenge is the resurrection of the Algerian economy, a task not aided by low oil prices.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC