Algeria’s moment of truth as protestors yearn for change

Algeria’s economy is on its knees and the electorate is fed up of paying obeisance to an elderly demagogue, writes Zaki Laidi

To understand what is behind the mass protests in Algeria, it helps to remember that the country’s outgoing president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, held that office for two decades, and served as foreign minister as far back as 1963, the year US president John F Kennedy was assassinated. The current army chief of staff is nearly 80, and the current acting president is 77. It is a geriatric regime, presiding over one of the world’s youngest populations.