Controversy surrounding Bouteflika bid dividing ruling oligarchy

MEE columnist Yasmine Ryan wrote in Foreign Policy on Tuesday: "The controversy surrounding [Bouteflika's] bid for a fourth term has divided the ruling oligarchy to an extent not seen in years."

Also in the article, Ryan writes: "According to Michael Willis, a professor of North African politics at the University of Oxford, the ruling elite doesn't want to take any chances of putting in place a president who might be too independent. Despite simmering clan feuds, Bouteflika is still viewed as the most "manageable" way to preserve the status quo. 'It suggests they're running out of ideas,' he says. 'On some level, if you have somebody who's very, very ill and not very active, then at least well they know that that person won't go off on their own and create problems.'"