On October 28, 2024, Emmanuel Macron arrived in Morocco for a state visit, welcomed by King Mohammed VI, marking the end of several years of diplomatic tensions. Behind the ceremonial gestures and speeches, it is the way in which the king communicates that attracts attention. In a world where immediacy is the norm, Mohammed VI chooses to remain discreet and limit his appearances. This approach, far from making him absent, strengthens his image and allows him to maintain a certain control over his message. At the head of a Morocco oscillating between age-old traditions and modern ambitions, Mohammed VI adopts a unique posture that defies the conventions of modern communication. While the kingdom deploys an active strategy of nation branding – with an emphasis on tourism, sport and cultural openness – the king chooses mystery and restraint. Unlike other heads of state who flood social networks, multiplying interviews and instant declarations, he prefers a rare and carefully controlled approach, where each word in a speech, each silence even, resonates with gravity.
On the rare occasions when he addresses the nation – the Throne Day, the Green March – the king does not just offer a speech, he imposes a rhythm, a vision which contrasts with the media rhythm, as if to better affirm its anchoring at the heart of Moroccan life. It is tempting to see in this strategy “zero-risk communication” a shield against the upheavals of the media debate. This deliberate choice intrigues and fascinates: how does a modern head of state, who keeps his distance from current communication standards, manage to maintain such a hold on the public scene and generate popular support? This choice raises a paradox: how to stay close without being accessible, to inspire without exposing yourself? Mohammed VI seems to have found a formula for distant proximity, where rarity gives each appearance a reinforced impact.
But, like any strategy, it has weaknesses. In moments of crisis, such as during the recent earthquake, the silence that protects can become the silence that isolates. Where expectations grow, the lack of an immediate response can fuel worry or even impatience. This is the complexity of communication based on scarcity: being close without giving in to immediacy, inspiring without bending to the demands of immediacy. Mohammed VI walks on a wire, and each silence, each appearance, reinforces the density of his mystery a little more.
Clothing, a key element
Mohammed VI’s communication is not done through interviews or press conferences, but is based on an ancient and subtle art: that of non-verbal communication. Within the framework of this centuries-old monarchy, every detail, every gesture, every appearance carries meaning. The sovereign, a fine strategist, has perfectly integrated this element into his mode of governance, and his public appearance becomes a way of saying without speaking. The king’s clothing set stands out as a key element of his image, where the choice of his outfits, often more casual during his private outings, goes well beyond simple personal fashion. They reflect a desire to humanize the royal function, to offer an image of closeness with his people, and to remind us that, behind the throne, Mohammed VI is also an everyday man.
Unlike his counterparts like King Abdullah II of Jordan, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, or Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who rely on an active and visible presence on social networks to take care of their image and directly reach the population, Mohammed VI adopts a more traditional and indirect communication strategy. Absence of website, Instagram or X accounts: the rarity of his public appearances, always carefully chosen, contributes to the construction of a message where absence and discretion become tools of power. This method seems to have proven itself in Morocco, where each gesture of the king, each clothing detail, each photo is the subject of particular attention and implicit interpretation. This choice of communication, while being less transparent, offers a mysterious dimension to the figure of the sovereign, leaving it to the public to decipher its meaning.
In this measured approach, royal communication also delivers a subtle message of continuity and stability. The increasingly frequent appearances of Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan alongside the King, notably when he helped him sit down during the last Speech from the Throne, are far from insignificant. These are probably signs designed to reassure the Moroccan people, particularly in the face of questions surrounding the king’s health. In a kingdom where the monarchical institution remains firmly anchored in its traditions, these gestures appear as an affirmation that the future is already underway, and that the monarchy, beyond its current form, continues to represent a pillar of stability and progress for the country.
The royal paradox: proximity without overexposure
Mohammed VI’s choices in terms of communication demonstrate his ambition to democratize, to a certain extent, the royal function, without sacrificing the historical prestige of the monarchy. When he takes photos with his fellow citizens or appears alongside popular personalities such as Teddy Riner or DJ Snake, he addresses Moroccans with disconcerting simplicity. By playing on this proximity, he establishes a form of image democracy which, at first glance, could be surprising. But ultimately, this strategy seems to aim to push royalty back from the excesses of media coverage, to refocus it on what remains fundamental: its privileged link with the Moroccan people.
At a time when media omnipresence has become a must for leaders, Mohammed VI chooses to move away from it. This choice is certainly not unique to the Moroccan monarchy, but it embodies a strategy particular to Mohammed VI. Where his father, Hassan II, cultivated a constant presence in the public and media space, the current king favors restraint. By refusing to give in to the sirens of constantly active communication, he distinguishes himself from those leaders who saturate the public space, thus risking diluting their message in the tumult of incessant information. Far from the frenzy of multiple appearances, it reminds us that each gesture, each royal speech, must be a privileged moment, carrying deep meaning, addressed directly to the nation.
A risky strategy in the age of transparency
Mohammed VI’s communication underwent one of its most delicate tests during the recent earthquake which shook Morocco. In a country where the royal figure brings hope, comfort and authority, every word of the king, every gesture counts. But beyond his symbolic status, Mohammed VI also embodies an unspoken rule of the monarchy: the king intervenes last, when tensions have eased, when it is time to bring people together and give a vision. This measured, almost meditative approach speaks to the caution and importance of each statement. But this reserve, in a context of immediate crisis, has ambiguous effects.
Following this natural disaster, many Moroccans and international observers expressed their surprise, even their frustration, at the silence of the palace in the first hours. This lack of immediate reaction has left a vacant place in the public space, a void into which rumors and questions have flowed. The government, for its part, has not been able to occupy this position with the clarity and assurance expected. So, can we say that this silence from the king was part of a well-calculated strategy, to avoid any haste and avoid a media controversy which could have eclipsed the essential – aid to the victims, reconstruction, the call for solidarity? This restraint, if it is one of the traits of royal communication, has here revealed its limits in a society where immediacy has become the norm.
By choosing to speak last, Mohammed VI relies on the wisdom of distance, aware of the impact of a message delivered at the moment when passions die down. But this cautious approach, which recalls the ancient monarchical tradition of the rare verb, finds itself in tension in the face of new media and citizen expectations. Because in times of crisis, a word, even a brief one, a symbolic presence, can be enough to bring comfort and ease anxiety. There remains an unanswered question: in moments of national vulnerability, is the choice of silence still viable, or does it risk creating an unintentional distance from the people?
The earthquake showed the strength and limits of this posture. It highlighted the difficulty for a secular monarchy to find its place between tradition and modernity, between the mystery of the royal function and the urgency of popular emotions. More than ever, the challenge for Mohammed VI will be to juggle these contradictory expectations, to remain both a near and distant king, a guide whose silence reassures, without ever becoming an absence. The earthquake, by revealing the limits of this reserve strategy, raises a delicate question for the monarchy: in an era of immediacy, is silence always a strength, or could it create an involuntary distance with the people? ?
Can we still lead by embodying mystery?
In a context where citizens expect greater proximity with their institutions, the king’s communication becomes an essential vector for strengthening the link between the people and the monarchy. Transparency, far from being a luxury, now appears to be a duty, a necessary condition for the exercise of responsibility, in an era where democratic expectations redefine the relationship between leaders and the governed.
Mohammed VI seems to have found a delicate balance between presence and withdrawal, but this model of communication, which has its virtues in terms of authority and mystery, could come up against increasing demands for transparency. At a time when democracy is being consolidated, the king must take this development into account: in a world where information circulates instantly and where citizens are increasingly demanding authenticity, the royal communication function is becoming a pillar central to the democratic project. The question remains: can we still lead by embodying mystery, or is this approach condemned to reinvent itself to respond to the new challenges of transparency and accountability that are shaping the Morocco of tomorrow?
* Ismail Daoud is a communicator and former student of the National School of Administration (Aimé Césaire Promotion)
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