Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika listens as his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma (L) speaks upon the latter's arrival at the People's Palace in the capital Algiers on April 15, 2013. FAROUK BATICHE/AFP/Getty Images[/caption]
The two most populous Arab states after Egypt, Algeria and Iraq have been without a president: Algeria for a few weeks, and Iraq a few months. The two countries rank among the richest in terms of natural resources, and both have the Arab world's bloodiest recent past.
Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika is said to have been in poor health since 2005. Rumors about his death are frequent on Twitter. He has been taken abroad on many occasions to receive medical treatment, but last month was the first time that it was announced by the state media. On April 27, 2013, Bouteflika was said to have suffered a minor stroke. Later, it was announced that he was taken to France. He was due to rest for a few days before coming back; when they announcement was made they said it would be a week. It has now been a month.
Iraq’s president, Jalal Talabani, belongs to Bouteflika's generation, and he suffers similar health issues. He was flown to the US in August 2008, officially for a problem with his knees. Later, it transpired that, in fact, he went for an eight-hour heart operation. By December 18, 2012, it was more serious. State media went from describing Talabani’s medical condition as a stroke, to a coma, to stable and recovering. The same week, however, his doctors decided that he should depart for treatment in Germany, even if—as they stated—“his condition [was] stable and his health improving." Five months have passed since then.
[inset_right]No videos, pictures or audio speeches have emerged of the two presidents.[/inset_right]
No videos, pictures or audio speeches have emerged of the two presidents. What has emerged about their conditions are mere rumors and irregular statements from different sources. In case of Talabani, the main source of information is his doctor, who is also a Kurdish governor. As for Bouteflika, snippets of information sometimes come from politicians, other times from the presidency or the prime ministry. In such instances the president is always ‘in good condition and returning soon.’
This is a characteristic of the Arab ancien régime, under which the population should not be kept informed about the affairs of its leadership; governing the state requires distance and secrecy. The leader is sacred, everlasting. Rather than having unified and regular press conferences with medical dossiers and transparent updates, officials prefer to play upon the nerves of the population, or to simply ignore them. Instead of declaring the ‘throne’ vacant and replacing the ailing president, the status quo is preserved.
Bouteflika and Talabani are not the strongest men in their respective countries. The former, a civilian, has to cope with the army and intelligence services. The latter belongs to the Kurdish minority in a largely Arab country. His power is also challenged by a rival Kurdish leader, Massoud Barzani. However, both Bouteflika and Talabani have historical legitimacy, and both have demonstrated their skills as sharp negotiators. Appeasing the Islamist insurgency in Algeria is largely credited to Bouteflika, while Talabani is the main mediator in the crisis between the central government and the Kurdish autonomous north. For many of their citizens, they symbolize the state and its unity.
However, nothing justifies keeping the public out of the loop. The whole region is in turmoil. Algeria’s borders with Tunisia, Libya and Mali are terrorist heavens, while its youth are a revolution in waiting. Iraq endures sporadic bombings and other terrorist acts, while Syria is destabilizing its western area and Iran remains a threatening neighbor.
The Arab uprisings prefaced the dawn of the Arab people, but also the dusk of the Zaim, the perpetual head of state. Iraq and Algeria, while partly free, have proved similar to the pre-2011 regimes in their behavior towards their citizens. Lessons were clearly not learned.
No one is immortal; no one is unique. Institutions are made to work, not to decorate constitutions. Algeria, while lacking the post of vice president, has a ready mechanism in case of vacancy. Iraq has two vice presidents and a newly legitimized government after last month’s provincial elections. It is fair and correct to allow things to work as planned, and replace both presidents—and the sooner, the better.
