MIDELT, MOROCCO // King Mohammed VI yesterday appointed Morocco's first Islamist prime minister and charged him with forming a government following his party's historic election win.
Abdelilah Benkirane, the head of the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), will now lead talks on forming a coalition cabinet, the palace said in a statement.
"He was appointed as the head of the government, in accordance with the new constitution, and will be responsible for forming the new government," the palace said in a statement.
Mr Benkirane took the oath of office after a brief meeting with the king and was expected to start coalition talks shortly.
The appointment capped a series of firsts in the north African nation: the first poll since the king introduced constitutional reforms as Arab Spring protests shook the region; the first time an Islamist party won a national poll; the first time the king had to name a premier from the winning party; and the first time an Islamist party will lead a government.
The PJD, which has sworn allegiance to the monarchy, won 107 of the 395 seats in parliament.
The party is considered to adhere to moderate Islamism, a political system that advocates following Islamic beliefs, and is not expected to make radical changes to policy since it will have to govern with several other parties.
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From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
