No one can confute the premise that before arguers present and elaborate their political view, they need to organize their argument, taking into account the potential doubt and criticism that they have to face up to.

Data Collection

The speeches which comprise our corpus were taken from one official site of Mr. Benkirane or were found on YouTube. The speeches gleaned from YouTube were rendered either in Arabic or Moroccan Arabic and were translated into English.

Data Selection Criteria

The main criterion for text selections hinges on context; the texts analyzed are deliberately chosen, for they reflect the social, economic and political environment of the country at the time.

Once more I would like to stress that the linguistic forms used in Mr. Benkirane’s speeches are not arbitrary and that they do have specific functions to fulfill.

This work focuses on a critical discourse analysis of the political discourse in Morocco. Before we delve into the analysis of Benkirane’s speeches, it would be appropriate to shed light on the political, economic and social environment that conditioned political argumentation. As I said, before chiseling away at the speeches at hand, it would be convenient to shed light on the historical and social context in which the speeches were produced. Therefore, establishing the context of a political speech is of paramount importance.

The following speech reflects the head of government’s response to the opposition’s criticisms leveled at Mr. Benkirane’s policies; it is worth noting that the opposition within the confines of the Moroccan parliament plays a watchdog function that consists in monitoring and controlling the work of the Moroccan government through the monthly oral questions directed to the Prime Minister.

The minutes of the forty-ninth session

August 13^th, 2012

Speech n°:1

“Although we increased the price of gasoline by 2 dirhams and diesel by 1 dirham, Praise Be to Allah, citizens still find fuels available and with a reasonable price. And Praise Be to Allah, people accepted this. But let me just remind the brother from the National Rally of Independents: how many times was this question of increasing the price of fuel raised in the government as an economic necessity? This never happened, for there was fear and reservation. As far as we are concerned, we are not afraid and have no reservations. We relied on people’s trust in us and addressed them plainly.

However, some ill-intentioned and malignant individuals tried to urge people to demonstrate against fuel price increases. These attempts fell through, though. If what we did was done a year ago, things might have taken a different turn. Therefore, dear respectable representatives, we took over to cope with difficult but not impossible tasks, and If Allah- the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful- Wills, we will make it. We are not over the moon, as some claim. We lied to no one. People voted for us not because of the statistics but because of other things.

Yet, the figures we provided are not deceptive; the figures we talked about we will try to achieve gradually at the end of our term. However, we encountered a circumstantial crisis that was bigger than we had expected. It was me who asked the Minister of Finance and Economy to talk to citizens frankly and to tell it like it is. Actually, there are hurdles which we will overcome Thanks God, the situation is under control. We took the necessary precautions. I’ m still amazed to find that there are some individuals who still criticize the move we made with regard to fuel price increase. I increased fuel price and society accepted the decision; therefore, we can save the government budget 5.7 billion dirham. (…)

We have to realize that we are in the same boat and those who dream of reverting to the old methods of cunning and deception, political control, giving orders to ministers via phone calls and cursing officials must realize that these days are gone; it is no longer possible, no longer possible, do you understand? (…) I’m not one of those who believe that government is created by Allah to live in an ivory tower and send down revelations to believers, I strongly believe in sharing and partnership; we are partners with everyone. (…) let me tell members of parliament that if the Prime Minister makes a mistake, give him away and do so in a useful way that will help the government move forward because a moment ago I laughed in that I’m a human being, this is it …because a woman said to me “how I wish you would make it, but you won’t.” Wewill make it, God willing. Wewill succeed.

Those who are attempting to derail us, using all tools available are afraid of the successful experience of consensual alternation headed by former Prime Minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi. (…) With regard to fighting corruption, we haven’t returned the sword in its sheath. But let me confess that fighting corruption is no easy task. You know what? The difficult thing is the day you find us engaged in corruption. That would be the gloomiest day. When you come to fight corruption, you broach the subject and the resurrection day comes about, so to speak, you start saying “where am I?” (…) It is our duty to preserve the stability of the country and uphold democracy; we don’t want to drop back and leave the field clear for gatekeepers, who are lying and given over to accusing us of inflaming the street.

On the contrary, we are striving to perpetuate stability in this nation. Do you remember the tale of two women who appealed to the sound judgment of Solomon, Peace Be Upon Him, each saying that the child was hers. Solomon ordered them to bring him a knife to cut the child into two halves. Upon hearing this, one of the ladies said, “Oh, sir, this is not my son.” Then the judge realized that the child was hers. This is how we reason. (…) We are not the ones who brought about the crisis; it is the crisis that brought us to power. We came to stand in the face of crisis. We are not geniuses. We are simply attempting. When you talk to us, Mr. Ahmed or anyone else, and say a good word, we really appreciate that and take it as a gift; even if the word is tough, we build upon it because we believe that national interests should come first. (…) I just want to make Moroccans understand that any Moroccan can be head of government, and after Allah, we have only one king, who is the symbol of our stability and unity.

Discourse Analysis n° 1

To better understand and analyze the following speech, first and foremost a specific emphasis should be laid on the situational context that governs the following political discourse. No doubt, the head of government’s speech comes as a response to the protest of citizens in the Moroccan capital against Benkirane’s government and the high cost of living after price rises of staple goods. Regardless of the pressure that would be felt by ordinary Moroccans struggling to make a living, Benkirane’s government started implementing a fuel price indexation system aimed at controlling oil subsidies and plugging a budget deficit.

Now that we have unfolded the backdrop against which this speech unfolds, it’s necessary to provide sketchy information on the producer of the speech.

Abdelilah Benkirane (Arabic: عبد الإله بنكيران, born 8 April 1954, Rabat) has been Head of Government of Morocco since 2011. He is the leader of the Justice and Development Party.^[1][2][3] Having won a plurality of seats in the November 2011 parliamentary election, his party formed a coalition with three parties that had been part of previous governments, and he was appointed as Head of Government on 29 November 2011.^[4][5]

During the 1970s, Benkirane was a leftist political activist.^[6] He has represented Salé in the Moroccan parliament since 14 November 1997.^[7] He was elected leader of the Justice and Development Party in July 2008, taking over fromSaadeddine Othmani.^[8]

Benkirane's politics are democratic and Islamist.^{[need quotation to verify]} In a 2011 interview he said: "If I get into government, it won't be so I can tell young women how many centimeters of skirt they should wear to cover their legs. That's none of my business. It is not possible, in any case, for anyone to threaten the cause of civil liberties in Morocco".^[9] However, he has in the past described secularism as "a dangerous concept for Morocco", and in 2010 he campaigned, unsuccessfully, to ban a performance in Rabat by Elton John because it "promoted homosexuality".^[10]

^{Source :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdelilah_Benkirane}

As a third step in our analysis, it is important to identify the medium in which the speech appeared. This first speech is taken from the official site of the Moroccan parliament and more particularly from a section allotted to the monthly meetings of the Moroccan parliament. This comes from an online source:http://www.chambredesrepresentants.ma/ar/مراقبة-العمل-الحكومي/الأسـئلة-الشفوية-الشهرية.

The main themes (discourse strands) that underlie the discourse at issue are as follows: audacity, frankness, trust, good and evil, divine providence, time (now and then). After having coded the discourse strands, it’s time to look at the structural features of the text; we will attempt to identify how the argument that Mr. Benkirane is making is structured. In fact, the head of government goes through several issues, one by one. He first makes a counter-factual case, stating that his government, unlike the previous ones, for the first time, has the audacity to grapple with thorny issues;

 The winds of the Arab Spring that overthrew the Tunisian tyrant, the Egyptian tyrant and the Libyan tyrant as you all know will hopefully bring about the downfall of the tyrants of both Syria and Yemen. In Morocco, we responded to these winds in our own way. The party of justice and development, in accordance with its erstwhile logic, got involved in the demand for the establishment of necessary reforms that should be grounded in the principle of democracy. But at the same time, the party chose not to jeopardize the stability of the country and his monarchy by taking to the streets. The party adopted a logic based on a golden rule, namely preserving stability, the monarchy and rigor in demanding reform.

As you all know, His Majesty the King responded through the famous, strong and historic speech March 9^th 2011 that relieved the tensions in the country in a very powerful way. Right after that, a Constitution Reform Commission and a follow-up mechanism were appointed. The reforms were composed of party secretaries, that is, general secretaries of political parties. All this led to the vote of the first of July on the constitution by the percentage that you all know, albeit the confusion/disruption that accompanied the campaign.

The premature electoral process then was set in motion. The party of justice and development thought that it was no need to rush to elections and it was possible to wait for the natural timing and which could have occurred in few months. From the very outset, we adopted a method that consisted in giving our opinion, claiming it and insisting upon it, without making a break with the administration. We called for the cancellation of the old lists and reliance on the identity card. We weren’t heard. We also called for raising the threshold and allowing citizens who are abroad to vote and they did vote for the constitution. But we didn’t make a break with the administration, for we went on saying that we would remain part of this process until it would appear to us that things were not that serious and only then we wouldn’t be able to commend elections wherein the will of the people was not respected duly.

We went to the pools, fearing that the number of participants would be small. But the first pleasant surprise that night came when we learned that 45.40% went to the pools. As it is well known, this rate is first of all better than the one registered in 2007. Second, this rate is a rate that is democratically reasonable in several democratic countries. And we, in the General Secretariat, consider it an acceptable rate. Another pleasant surprise was the victory of the party of justice and development. I didn’t only expect this success but I announced it as well.

Thanks God, the results were much better than we expected and imagined. Regardless of the success we regarded as normal, this victory brought joy to the people and the evidence for that was that first and foremost, Moroccans reacted positively to the party of justice and development as it was targeted during a long period of time, and especially in the final stages when brother, Jaafar Hassoune was prevented from running in Taroudant, after being deprived of his right to a lawyer and removed from the judiciary for misplaced reasons.

Today, we can say that Moroccan officials have realized that the interest of the country lies in steering clearly and honestly towards democracy. Therefore, we regard what is going on in Morocco right now as a historic step that allowed people to retrieve their natural rights as a result of their discovering that the party that won the election was the one they had voted for. In other words, they didn’t vote for a party only to find out another party they didn’t vote for. Naturally as stipulated in the constitution, the party that comes first in the results of the elections will be entrusted with the task of forming the government and the future prime minister will be chosen from it.

Without a doubt, you all know the Koutla (a political coalition that includes the party of independence, the party of Progress and Socialism, the Socialist Union of Popular Force) expressed its readiness/willingness to ally with the party of Justice and Development. And we said first and foremost we will not set about contacting anyone, out of respect, until the Prime Minister is appointed. Second, we will ally with any party except one party; no need to mention its name, for you all know which it is. The party of Justice and Development today doesn’t believe that it has come in an ambience of normal process as a normal party that is to continue a normal stage. The party is well aware of the expectations; it is well aware of the social tension; it’s well aware of the fact that the street hasn’t calmed down yet; it’s aware of the political, economic and social problems.

But, contacts are being made from different sides to secure support from businessmen, from a broad range of political beliefs that are not accustomed to responding to the party of Justice and Development. We pin our hope on the future. We’re waiting for the King’s nomination; then if Allah wills we will set about establishing the government. And after that, the work of the government will begin, with the Blessings of Allah. We are certain that Moroccans will notice -from the very first days of the government that will be headed by the party of Justice and Development if Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, wills- positive and strong signs that will reassure them and open the door of hope for the future for them.

This is all I’ve got to say to you. I don’t need to remind you that we won 107 seats from 395. (…) With regard to the 20^th February movement issue, it is a social movement that expresses its dissatisfaction with how things are run in the country. This movement should take into account the fact that something unexpected did happen in Morocco: all parties accepted the outcome of the elections and that international as well as national observers recognized its fairness. Are we going to engage in dialogue with them? Well, I consider the movement as being composed of our brothers and our children, even my son was with them.

On Thursday 24^th, February, Mr. Nabil Ben Abdellah and I engaged in dialogue with the leaders of that movement. So I’m ready to discuss with them anything starting from tonight if they wish, I’ve no objection and I’m ready. Now, suppose the movement came up with something reasonable, why not implement it. If there’s only one person saying something right, we have to listen to him. If he’s right, we stand by him. And if he’s wrong, we have to face him. This is how a reasonable and fair state should be like. And if they want to organize marches and respect the law, I have no problem with that. (…) with respect to employment,

Morocco just like all other countries in the world suffers from this problem. But our country has other problems the root cause of which is corruption and tyranny. We will try to cope with corruption and tyranny and this will have a positive impact upon employment. As far as the election results are concerned, I think it’s a vote of confidence and hope and not of sanction (C’est un vote de confiance et d’espoir)  (…) When we were making preparations for the constitutional reforms, the sacredness of the person of His Majesty posed a problem to our frame of reference. What is the meaning of the sacredness of the person of the king? We know that it is borrowed from the Western culture. We asked the commission in charge of amending the constitution to draw the attention of the King to that issue. The reply came in the words of Mr. Al Moatassim, telling us that the King is telling you that Allah is holy and prophets are infallible and I’m king and citizen.

You can imagine the satisfaction we felt upon hearing this. This is a fundamental change that occurred in Morocco and it has constitutional manifestations. (…) let me tell you that according to the constitution the President of the state is His Majesty and he’s still Prime Minister. Let’s be clear, Morocco cannot be governed against the King’s will. And if this is possible, it’s not Benkirane who is going to do it. (…) a French woman journalist asked me “est ce que tu as prix rendez-vous avec sa majesté?” =Did you make an appointment with His Majesty ? I answered His Majesty convenes. If he convokes you, you have to show up and if you’re not convened, then you have to work. Take your decisions. Do you remember former First Minister of Morocco, My Ahmed El Araki? The parted King, May his soul rest in peace, used to tell him if you want something send me a note; if in two hours time, you received no reply, do what you want. That was the tradition during Hassan II’s reign in the sixties. How I wish that the ministers who would be working with us will not hopefully be afraid of losing their posts.

And if ever we’re afraid, we don’t have to be too afraid. If his Majesty tells you something, he’s not going to tell you something “incensé” =foolish and if he tells something that seems to you as such, you can respond in a polite way and if you judge his suggestion incompatible with the interests of the country, you can tell him “I can’t do that, sir”

You know what? Moroccans voted for Justice and development because the latter looks up to their intelligence. Moroccans are smart and can see through your tricks and if they realize that you’re up to no good, then you will pay a steep price. The members of the party of Authenticity and Modernity did pay a steep price for what they did.

Discourse Analysis n° 4

As customary, in order to have a better understanding and appreciation of the above text, it rests with us to unveil the context in which this speech was produced. Abdelilah Benkirane, Morocco’s new prime minister as the leader of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) at a press conference in Rabat on November 27, 2011, after the announcement of the official parliamentary election’s results. The moderate Islamist party won the most seats in Morocco’s parliamentary elections, giving it the right to lead a coalition government for the first time in Moroccan history.

 Speech n°: 3

Minutes of a parliamentary session

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McZHsWfX58E

Investment in Morocco has encountered some problems. It has suffered as the rest of other sectors from control and monopoly. Control, control of politics, control of culture, control of economy Long time ago, some were told to make money and keep quiet. This was what was said. Today, I want to tell people who are saying this that this is no longer possible. This is what we want to explain to people. What is done is done. We are the boys of today. We are the boys of the future. Morocco cannot function without a single body of law for everyone. Morocco could not operate if there were no equal opportunities for all.

 If a man of power cannot understand that what he earns as a salary is enough, he has no right to encroach upon the territory of a businessman and compete with him in an attempt to lead a life just like him; similarly, a businessman cannot lead a better life if he does not work harder. Sometimes, he takes risks and ends up in prison. Sometimes, he may get poor and lose everything he has overnight. We have no right to vie with him. An employee in an administration cannot spy on a businessman and count how much money he makes and then tell him to go halves with him. This control is what needs to be stopped.

 Let me tell you that all the problems that you mentioned, namely lot of paperwork, administrative difficulties, estate problems, I swear to God that Moroccans can overcome them. What they cannot overcome and understand is control. Today, businessmen know that this government has come in order to set up a logic of equality among them in respect of justice, a logic of equality in terms of equity, a logic of equality in integrity and transparency.

Today, today, there are some companies… we no longer receive and pay for the travel costs incurred by the families of certain ministers; we no longer receive a number of things that used to exist in the past. The fact is that in this government, we do not have a superman. This government consists of some people whose resources are limited. But this is not a big problem, for we’re not geniuses or prophets. We’re just human beings who are simply trying diligently with good intentions and the people want us and they still want us.

Take a look at the papers and read opinion polls and the statistics, they speak for themselves. We thank Allah for the blissful state our country is in. We are fortunate to have stability in our country and a King; we want to proceed together. Of course, they will not let us work and I’m not going to beg them. I’m not imploring those who, as your mate has said, Morocco has grown tired of: Crocodiles/alligators and goblins; Morocco has not grown tired of them, this is not true.

That man was arrested for those words because the latter, in his own mind, stand for specific persons and both he and I know who they are but cannot say it. He knows. He knows. This is not a problem. He understands. He understands. But what needs to be understood is that those people are gradually losing their credibility in society. They are known. Today people are well aware of the fact that this government has good intentions and is willing to make reforms, and investors are also well aware of the fact that this government has good intentions and is willing to make reforms; all the people, the world, the outside world know that this government is very serious.

 And it has taken over to cope with the problems the country is enmeshed in. The government has come not in order to meddle with personal problems of people. There are some who shamelessly accuse us of assigning responsibilities to people from our party. And we have 11 ministers and we appointed 100. I only know three of them that belong to the party (PJD), more than 197 or 200 have no connection to the party and I do not know them at all. They were proposed by ministers and there are some of them I do not even know who proposed them. These people were chosen by committees. It’s possible for us to err in our choice.

Of course, if this happens, we will remove them. This is not a problem. But to go to the length of creating discrimination and the minister becomes fearful the moment he finds a person endowed with competence and belonging to this party, he will start feeling some discrimination against that person, as if we were living in the period of apartheid. At a time when this government is headed by this party, it is preposterous. Today, I want to tell Moroccans: May Allah Lead you to the straight path! You have to be proud of your country. It is visited by heads of states, who express commendation and admiration for it. Let your country move forward.

 I’m not telling you not to criticize and not to practice the role of the opposition. Do practice a constructive opposition, a constructive criticism. But, if you go the other way round, then you will simply run up against negative things. We won’t let this happen to our country. We will and to the last breath cling to what procures the stability, the interests and the good of our country. Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah upon you

 Speech n°: 2

Minutes of the eighty-second parliamentary session

February 11^th, 2013

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious,

Praise Be to Allah, Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family and companions.

Mr. President,

Dear Brothers, Respectable Representatives,

Dear Sisters, Respectable Deputies,

My assistants and I always get ready for the issue to be discussed with the representatives of our nation and I come to talk about it and when we get into the heart of the discussion, I’m surprised to hear other issues; I have no objection to that, but we need to be clear, for I cannot change the official figures I have got with impressions and rumors But, I’m afraid, dear brothers, when I ask you to name an item the price of which has increased, you get confused. Of course, from time to time, there is a big increase in the price of an item; I do agree with you on the fact that there is some suffering, but that suffering has nothing to do with the rise in prices right now.
Tell me is there any rise in the price of bread, sugar or oil? Is there any increase in the price of gasoline and diesel? I’m afraid but that increase in fuel was accepted by Moroccans eight months ago. So when will you stop crying over this?

 That increase in the price of that product has saved 5 billion dirham, and if we keep on saving, we will have saved up to 13 billion dirham by 2013, and in that way we would reach up to 55 billion dirham in the compensation fund. Tell me, what do you want? Do you want to gloat over your willingness to kill this country by submerging it and suffocating it in water? And then tell the people that what you want is the common good. Tell me, well, Mr. Abdelillah, Moroccans are complaining about poverty and I will agree with you. But was this poverty engendered by Mr. Benkirane the year he took command? Wasn’t it the upshot of years and years of poor previous government management? Do you really want Mr. Benkirane and his government to cope with the problem of poverty in just one year? It’s impossible.

I want to tell Moroccans through you:” be careful and do not let others get hold of your brains. How could you believe there was a rise in the price of bottled gas when you purchase it at 40 dirham?” As a matter of fact, there is a rise in the price of some products such as: chickens, tomatoes and other items. And I do stand in solidarity with you, but do be careful of rumors put about by those people; look them in the face. If you meet people who do really care for you, people whom you have known for a long time and whom you will remember for what they did for you. And if you are sure that these people are sincere, then trust them. However, if you gaze at strange faces striving to put about rumors, do be careful because these people have no intention whatsoever of decreasing the prices of goods; their intention is to impair this successful government experience. Be careful, dear brothers.

And just say to yourselves: is it not natural for a new government to be given some time. When the experience of alternation was in power and we were in the opposition, we gave them time…And in my view, we could have continued in our support of it. But, when I hear remarks and criticisms, I say this is not bad. On the contrary, it is in my best interest to face and be aware of these criticisms. But, when it comes to rumors, I know that the intention of those behind those rumors is something else. Therefore, I want Moroccans to take up responsibility and remain on their guard.

When we took over, nobody staged a demonstration, or asked us to increase the amount of your children’s scholarship. (…) You, brothers, you always keep on talking about the compensation fund; but when an individual is the head of government, the only thing he is thinking about is to maintain balance as far as the budget is concerned. This is just like a father managing the budget of a household. Do you really want to know what the actual budget of our country is? It is not 340 billion dirham, as a representative said. The income of Morocco is 210 billion dirham. If I’m wrong, the minister of finance will correct me. We borrow 50 billion dirham each year. Do you want us to borrow more?  At the back of every Moroccan’s mind, credit engenders problems; it also leads to family disruption; and this is what this government is attempting to ward off. (…) the compensation fund is a thorny issue.

When we came, we tried to fix the problem. How? through gradual subsidization, and in a way that will not affect ordinary citizens. And we will take money from this fund and give it to those who are in need. Let me remind you that, this year, we allotted 40 billion dirham to the compensation fund. If we subtract taxes from that money, we’re left with 24 billion dirham and this will allow us to give families around 3 or 4 million. But when rumors were divulged, we came to the negotiating table again. So when I’m providing numbers, I’m not lying. I’m telling you the truth. (…) this government, our brothers, is talking to you in plain terms; it is not willing to feed on your woes.

This government came to alleviate the pressure of life that citizens are to feel; it came to do some bit of justice. It is unreasonable that whenever we touch on an issue, others kick up a storm. (…) when a citizen repairs to the administration, he finds it malfunctioning and corruption-stricken, and he knows that this specter is not new but dates back to the past; it has its advocates and lobbies that profit from it. Allow me if I use the animal lexicon, “Indeed, Allah is not Timid to Present an Example, That of a Mosquito or what is above it” Sura Al-Baqara Aya 26. When I give examples, I’m telling things the way I feel it in my innermost heart.

 

In this book, I attempted to demonstrate the overriding importance of the use of language in Moroccan political argumentation and how politicians are acutely aware of the key role played by this tool of communication to achieve specific goals. How a political actor can further his aims by way of language use is a question of an unending interest. No doubt, language is a sort of tool kit that provides icons and symbols that enable its users to represent reality to the public, thus passing on information to hearers or listeners, who are in turn supposed to decode what is being delivered, for communication is not unidirectional.

 

 support a thoroughly educated and informed public, a tolerance for the questioning of authority and the spirit of solidarity. The more educated, the more questioning, and the more civic we become, the greater the chances of having a brighter and better future will be. No doubt, it doesn’t make sense to follow blindly orders emanating from above without knowing how our government functions and how it should be running to ascertain that it is running efficiently for everyone and to make sure it is not corrupt.

 

A democracy with no protest or visible dissent must be either extremely efficient and representative or suffering from deplorable public apathy.