Speculation over a possible departure of Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb’s government is once again stirring debate in Algeria, reviving a far more uncomfortable question for the country’s leadership: what is the point of changing ministers if the system of governance itself remains unchanged?
With the new legislature now in place, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune could be tempted to fall back on a familiar mechanism of the Algerian system — replacing individuals whenever the machinery appears to seize up, rather than reforming the machinery itself.
Several reports, none officially confirmed, point to the current Interior Minister, Saïd Sayoud, a former wali who has become one of the executive’s most visible figures, as a possible candidate to take over as head of government. According to scenarios circulating in Algiers, Mohamed Arkab would keep the Hydrocarbons portfolio and Ahmed Attaf would remain at Foreign Affairs, while the Interior, Justice, Finance and Higher Education ministries could see new appointees.
Ghrieb himself was named prime minister a year earlier, in September 2025, after having served as Minister of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production. At the time, he pledged to prioritize serving Algerian citizens and to advance the national economy toward a standing befitting the country’s role as a central regional and international power.
Should another reshuffle now be confirmed, it would mark the second change of government leadership in roughly a year, fueling questions in Algiers about whether reshuffling cabinet posts can address the structural governance challenges that critics say persist regardless of who sits in which ministry.