Spain successfully defends the Moroccan stance on the Sahara dispute before its European peers because it pleads the stability of a more stable, more present, more modern and more promising Morocco, said Mohamed Benchicou, former director of the Algerian daily "le Matin".

   In an article published, Thursday, by the Algerian daily "le Soir", Benchicou drew a gloomy picture of Algeria's failures, especially in the Sahara dispute, stressing that Morocco managed to reverse the situation to its advantage.

    Algerian leaders, in the past years, were not able to keep up with the new world changes, said the columnist, recalling Algeria’s failure to conclude a friendship accord with France and the embarrassing diplomatic fiasco in the Sahara issue.

    Algeria cannot cope with the discourse in vogue, especially in France during the current elections, Benchicou pointed out, adding that Morocco, however, could embrace and use it to improve its image and turn the situation of the Sahara to its own benefit. 

    "Spain’s rallying for the Moroccan side is a failure that Algeria is paying for," he said. Refuting the theory of a strategy to isolate Algeria, Benchicou stressed that "it is the Algerian regime itself that led to that isolation, due to its own autism, immobility, obsolescence, and authoritarianism" while "Morocco has become more open, more dynamic and more modern."

    Algeria seems outdated compared to Mauritania, which has given a good example with a second round of presidential elections, he concluded.