Tebboune delivers his bankruptcy speech before the parliament

The speech delivered on Sunday, December 29, 2024, by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune before the two chambers of the Algerian Parliament at the Palais des Nations highlights two important aspects: first, the increasingly evident diplomatic deadlock, and second, the growing denial of both internal and external realities.

In a context where observers had expected a de-escalation in Algerian-French relations, especially with the hope of the imminent release of writer Boualem Sansal, the Algerian president paradoxically chose the path of confrontation. His speech, particularly harsh, reiterated the usual historical grievances: colonial legacy, nuclear testing in the Sahara, and the controversy over skulls held in French museums. The intensity of his words – “They boast of their civilization while taking pride in stealing skulls as trophies” – seems less a diplomatic stance and more an attempt to divert attention from rising internal tensions.

This avoidance of reality is also reflected in the handling of the Western Sahara issue. Tebboune’s expression – “the solutions range between the bitter and the more bitter” (يتراوح بين المُرّ والأمَرْ) – inadvertently reveals the deadlock of Algerian diplomacy. This formulation, which plays on the gradation of bitterness, illustrates the inability to propose a credible alternative in light of changes to the issue on the international stage.

The choice of words to refer to Morocco is equally symbolic of this deadlock. By using “them” only once, Tebboune awkwardly attempts to respond to the striking phrase “the other world” coined by Mohammed VI, which refers to Algeria without naming it. This expression, which went viral on social media and was widely picked up by international media, has become an effective diplomatic tool, showing Algeria’s loss of control over the regional narrative.

The accusation against France, presented as the hidden architect of Morocco’s autonomy plan, also reveals this denial of reality. While the Western Sahara issue has seen significant developments on the international stage, with growing recognition of the Moroccan autonomy plan, Algerian diplomacy remains trapped in an outdated view of the conflict, unable to adapt to new regional dynamics.

Denial is most evident in the handling of internal issues. Faced with an increasing protest movement, especially on social media under the hashtag #مانيش_راضي (“I am not satisfied”), Tebboune remains silent, preferring to retreat into unrealistic economic promises: a 53% increase in purchasing power during his term, “gigantic” desalination projects, and an ambitious housing policy. These statements, completely disconnected from the country’s realities, reveal a blatant disregard for the collective intelligence of Algerians.

This rush toward unrealistic promises, combined with an outdated anti-French rhetoric, illustrates the intellectual deadlock of a regime that no longer knows how to maintain its legitimacy. The invocation of colonial memory, far from being an effective diplomatic tool, now seems like the last refuge of a regime out of ideas.

What is even more troubling is the widening gap between official positions and the aspirations of an increasingly critical civil society. The success of the hashtag #مانيش_راضي is a sign of the emergence of a civic consciousness that rhetorical tricks can no longer contain. The contrast between the grandiose rhetoric of the power and the reality of social frustrations has never been so striking.

This double impasse – diplomatic and social – signals a deeper crisis in Algeria’s governance model. The inability to renew diplomatic discourse and meet social expectations raises questions about the regime’s ability to reinvent itself. In this context, the anti-French stance appears less as a calculated strategy and more as a symptom of a system at the end of its rope.

The question is no longer how long this posture of denial can be maintained, but rather how to anticipate the consequences of this voluntary blindness. Between growing diplomatic isolation and deepening social divides, Tebboune’s speech could mark a turning point: the moment when the ostrich policy reaches its ultimate limits.