These are detected changes in cable 07ALGIERS45 based on small subset of available CableGate WikiLeak torrents.
WikiLeaks was willing to hide this from you. But cats has found following changes in 07ALGIERS45:
Changed on December 02, 2010 12:01 compared to December 02, 2010 11:01
`VZCZCXYZ0010
PP RUEHWEB
DE RUEHAS #0045 0161707
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 161707Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY ALGIERS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2696
INFO RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 6429
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 1573
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1486
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 2048
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 2834
C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 000045
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM AG
SUBJECT: SENATE PRESIDENT RE-ELECTED
REF: A. 2006 ALGIERS 2067
¶B. ALGIERS 30
Classified By: DCM Thomas F. Daughton; reasons 1.4 b/d
¶1. (C) Abdelkader Bensalah was re-elected, 129-0, as the
President of the Conseil de la Nation (Senate) on January 12.
Bensalah remains first in line to succeed President
Bouteflika in the event that he is unable to complete his
current term. Bensalah's re-election became a foregone
conclusion when no other senator challenged him for the post.
A reporter for French-language daily newspaper Liberte,
Nadia MellalXXXXXXXXXXXX, who covered all aspects of the election, told
us the result was predetermined once President Bouteflika
signaled to the senators that he wanted Bensalah to retain
his position. MellalXXXXXXXXXXXX said senators privately complained
that, out of respect to Bouteflika, no other candidates had
presented themselves. Many told her the election became a
formality rather than an exercise in democracy, which was a
shame in their view.
BOUTEFLIKA APPOINTS SENATORS OF HIS GENERATION
--------------------------------------------- -
¶2. (C) On the day of the election, eight new senators joined
the Conseil de la Nation as part of the third of the
membership appointed directly by President Bouteflika (ref
A). All have one characteristic in common: they are
"moudjahidine," or veterans (like Bouteflika) of the war of
independence against France. According to MellalXXXXXXXXXXXX, these
newly appointed senators, as members of the "revolutionary
family" and in a sense "siblings of President Bouteflika,"
will be very loyal to him. Some senators quietly expressed
to her their frustration that the president did not reach out
to members of the younger generation who will need to lead
the country after Bouteflika and his generation pass from the
scene.
VACANT SEATS FOR DEPARTING MINISTERS?
-------------------------------------
¶3. (C) Bouteflika appointed just eight senators out of the 24
allotted to him this year. Dalila HelilouXXXXXXXXXXXX, a former senator
from the presidential tier, told us Bouteflika made a
conscious decision to leave 16 seats vacant for later
appointment. While it may be true that Bouteflika had not
yet made up his mind in some cases, HelilouXXXXXXXXXXXX thought it more
likely that he wanted to keep some Senate seats in reserve
for ministers who are expected to be dismissed shortly from
the cabinet. HelilouXXXXXXXXXXXX said the number of vacant seats was a
good indicator that a cabinet shuffle was coming soon.
¶4. (C) COMMENT: Even though Bouteflika's illness is receding
in the minds of the public (thanks to television pictures of
an active president), the widely respected Bensalah is
considered able to manage the presidential succession process
should Bouteflika not be able to finish his term. Helilou'sXXXXXXXXXXXX
analysis of the vacant Senate seats also strikes us as on the
mark.
FORD
`