The old man won't go away

摘要

Not surprisingly for a country that lost a million people in its struggle for independence in 1954-1962 and perhaps another 200,000 in its later civil war at the end of the century, humour in Algeria tends to be darkly cynical. And not surprisingly the presidential election set for April 17th has prompted plenty of bitter laughs. The almost certain winner, Abdelaziz Bou-teflika, has been president for the past 15 of his 77 years. Yet apart from brief, inaudible television clips of official gatherings, he has scarcely been heard from in nearly two years. He did not even attend his campaign's concluding rally near Algiers, the capital. Busedin supporters were treated instead to a speech he recorded in 1999.