Abstract
This paper explores obscured areas within contemporary Moroccan political discourse. Specifically, it examines Moroccan politicians’ employment of populist discourse in their speeches to convey their perspectives, while also influencing public attitudes and behaviors in order to realize their political aspirations. The paper brings the Moroccan political discourse under the rhetorical microscope by analyzing it through rhetorical strategies lenses. Furthermore, the paper shifts the reaction-based and biased analysis that characterizes most critiques of Moroccan political discourse to dealing with them through the lenses of rhetorical criticism. The study combines Aristotle’s and Fairclough’s theories of rhetoric to examine former Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane’s (2011-2016) and the parliamentary member Rim Chabat’s (2022-2026) speeches. The conclusion suggests the necessity of a constant evaluation of the quality of political speech in order to enhance public taste and promote a more rhetoric-based discourse.
Key words: Populism, Rhetoric, Morocco, Political Discourse.
