Algeria PM accomplishes President’s missions

Algeria’s Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal will be very busy with important events before the end of the year while the country is experiencing a « silent » race ahead of the forthcoming presidential elections.

Due to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s health condition, Sellal found himself playing major roles which are bigger than his ambitions,” according to observers.

Since Bouteflika took over power in 1999, he had had monopoly over working visits to provinces. Even when he was ill in 2005, former prime ministers Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelaziz Belkhadem did not have the “honor” to play the president’s role.

Sellal has visited more than 12 provinces and distributed large sums of money to support development.

He is expected to hold a meeting with France’s Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault late in 2013. The meeting will not be ordinary due to the specificity of relations between Algiers and Paris.

Talks between the Algerian Prime Minister and the president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso on his July 7^th’s visit to Algeria represented an opportunity for Sellal to promote his name and build external relations with important institutions.

Questions are raised about Sellal’s possible position compared to candidates who will run for office in 2014 if he decides to enter the race.