The Left Alliance called off its scheduled meeting with Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri on Thursday night after the two sides failed to agree on where it should take place, making it the second opposition grouping to balk at holding consultations with the designated Head of Government at PAM headquarters.
The alliance, comprising the FGD and PSU, had been due to meet El Mansouri at 6pm on Friday as she continued consultations with parties represented in the new Parliament.
In a statement, it said El Mansouri had contacted FGD secretary-general Abdeslam Laaziz and his PSU counterpart Jamal El Asri to propose talks.
The two leaders accepted the meeting in principle while reiterating that their eight MPs would sit in “citizen opposition” in Parliament.
But they asked for the talks to be moved away from party premises.
The alliance said an “independent space” was more appropriate to preserve what it described as the institutional nature of a meeting between a designated Head of Government and party secretaries-general.
No agreement was reached on an alternative venue.
“Due to the lack of consensus on the location of the meeting, it was impossible to organize the meeting scheduled for Friday, October 2, 2026,” the alliance said.
The dispute echoes one that had already knocked another meeting off El Mansouri’s consultation calendar this week.
PJD chief Abdelilah Benkirane had initially agreed in principle to meet El Mansouri but later refused to go to PAM headquarters for the appointment scheduled for 5pm on Thursday.
Benkirane took a different position on where any encounter should happen, saying El Mansouri would have to come to him if she wanted to meet. He also left no ambiguity over the political question behind the consultations: the PJD had chosen opposition and would not enter the next government.
The Left Alliance has likewise already chosen the opposition benches, but its statement framed the disagreement around the institutional status of the talks rather than participation in El Mansouri’s coalition.
The cancellation comes after El Mansouri spent Wednesday and Thursday receiving a succession of parties at PAM headquarters as she works to assemble the next government.
RNI, Istiqlal, the Popular Movement, USFP and PPS met her on Wednesday. The Constitutional Union and MDS followed on Thursday, with MDS chief Abdessamad Archane expressing support for El Mansouri while calling for faster reforms and action on the cost of living.
