New brooms

In Algeria, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's honeymoon period won't survive the end of Ramadan this weekend. Expect a tough military-led Islamist campaign early in the year, then subsequent reprisals against civilians. The key indicator for Algerians is the level of political violence. The dramatic fall in terror attacks last year explains why so many Algerians changed their minds about 'Boutef'. Unexpectedly, he appeared to be breaking free of the generals' grip and capable of taking real political initiatives. Algiers, at least, almost returned to the pre-terror days; business confidence mounted.

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Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Abdelkader Hachani, Ahmed Benbitour, France, Moroccan, Saudi Arabia, Mohammed, Jordan, Abdullah, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, Libya, Cuba, American, British, Moammar el Gaddaffi, Bill Clinton, Egypt, Atef Obeid, Hosni Mubarak, Omer Hassan el Beshir, Hassan el Turabi, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, New century, new packaging, German, Italian, El Sadig Sadeeg el Mahdi, Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon, Front Islamique du Salut, Armée Islamique du Salut, Front de Libération Nationale, Beya, alternance, Gama'a el Islamiyya, intifada

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