In the middle of a wave of protests against the country's leadership, Algeria's decrepit President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has appointed a new government. Prime Minister is the 59-year-old Noureddine Bedoui, as the state-run Algerian news agency APS reported.
The new cabinet therefore consists of 27 ministers. Six of them also belonged to the old government, which had resigned after the protests in the North African country.
Bedoui had promised in the middle of March a government of experts, in which all political spectrums should be represented. But many politicians refused to enter the Cabinet. The protests were also directed against his appointment as head of government.
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In Algeria, demonstrations against Bouteflika and the leadership of the country have been going on for weeks. It was not until Friday that hundreds of thousands took to the streets in many places. They called for a resignation of Bouteflika and the political elite.
The 82-year-old head of state has been in power for 20 years, but has been sitting in a wheelchair since a stroke in 2013 and can barely speak. After the protests, he had waived the initially planned candidacy in the next presidential election. At the same time, however, he postponed the vote and extended his term of office indefinitely. Actually, this expires on April 28th.
The influential military is now moving away from Bouteflika. Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah called on the Constitutional Court and the Parliament to activate Article 102 of the Constitution. Thus, the president for health reasons can be declared incapacitated and deposed. Salah retains his new post in the new government and remains Deputy Secretary of Defense.