Autocrats you like

"Indeed, the king brooks no criticism. Reporters Without Borders, an international media watchdog, says that in the past ten years Moroccan journalists have been sentenced to more than 25 years in prison and $2.9m in fines, hamstringing what was once the Arab world’s most vibrant media. Most of those punishments were related to somehow offending the monarchy. Most tellingly, Le Journal Hebdomadaire, a mould-breaking independent magazine born in the more open final years of the previous king’s reign, is being sold after years of financially draining legal battles and, its owners say, an advertising boycott unofficially ordered by the palace. Many of its staff fear the new owner will be more timid. Le Journal’s founder, Aboubakr Jamai, who was driven into exile several years ago to escape libel fines and now lives in Spain, says the press has been “domesticated” by the king’s powerful counsellors, for the most part his schoolmates from the Royal College in Rabat, the capital. The political and economic elite has, he says, become tamer. It is not clear how much the average Moroccan, raised in a tradition of deference to the monarchy, cares about the lack of political liberalisation. Indeed, the Tel Quel poll suggests he remains in awe of the monarch. Nearly half of those polled reckoned Morocco was a democracy. Of the third who said it was authoritarian, quite a lot thought this a good thing. Many apparently think the king’s growing business clout is good for the country’s overall economy. Muhammad VI’s personal fortune is estimated at $2.5 billion and royal businesses may account for 6% of GNP."