King Mohammed on Tuesday awarded cabinet posts to moderate Islamists for the first time on Tuesday, giving the foreign, justice and social affairs ministries to the party that came first in a November election, the official MAP news agency said. Abdelilah Benkirane, leader of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), was earlier designated by the king as prime minister to head a power-sharing cabinet after his party won 27 percent of parliamentary seats in the election.
The king brought forward the election by nearly a year in an effort to pre-empt a popular revolt similar to ones that have rocked the Arab world, toppling four long-time ruling autocrats. King Mohammed hopes fresh faces at the top of government, and at least the appearance of change, will deflate popular pressure for a more revolutionary transformation inspired by the Arab uprisings.