At Ambrose this Monday: Unprecedented situation with a mauve BP without Bérenger

For the first time in its history, the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) is holding a Political Bureau (BP) meeting without its founding leader. Following Paul Bérenger's resignation as Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), the party enters a new era marked by leadership questions and its continued participation in government.

The MMM has faced numerous crises in the past — in 1973, 1983, 1993, 1997, 2014, and 2015. However, the recent turmoil within the party is described by various observers as unprecedented. For the first time, it is Bérenger himself who finds himself in the minority within the party he co-founded.

Unlike past crises, where a dissenting minority would leave, the situation has reversed this time: it is Bérenger alone who chose to resign from his DPM position, while the majority of the party opted to remain in government. This is pending a decision from Junior Minister Joanna Bérenger. This shift helps prevent a break in the Alliance of Change, which has occurred with other governments and alliances involving the MMM in the past.

In this unique context, the MMM's Political Bureau meeting is taking place this Monday afternoon on Ambrose Street. This meeting aims to clarify the future of the party and its members — likely without their leader. The BP, which derives from the Central Committee (CC), will base its decisions on this body. It will notably acknowledge the resolution adopted during the CC meeting on Wednesday, March 18, which expressed the desire of the "vast majority" of activists for the MMM to remain in government.

Among the discussion topics will also be the motion from Minister Aadil Ameer Meea, requesting a vote from the CC to legitimize the party’s place in government. However, the issue of leadership is expected to be the central topic. After severe criticisms directed at Paul Bérenger by his former close collaborators during their press conference on Friday, March 20, it is hard to imagine the key players sitting calmly around the same table.

On that day, all the mauve ministers who spoke justified their choice to stay in government, directly opposing their now former leader. According to some sources, the party's leadership may take on a collective form in the future. There will also be questions about who will succeed Bérenger as DPM — the MMM’s responsibilities, as the main partner of the Labour Party within the Alliance of Change, logically need to remain intact in the current situation.

Little information has leaked about other points that will likely be discussed during this meeting.