Algerian president's palm-tree plan falls flat with voters in run-up to elections

Project to plant 1.5 million trees to symbolise regime's longevity instead leads public to question government's sense of priorities

Along Le Moutonnière, which connects the centre of Algiers with the suburb of El Harrach to the west, and all along the recently refurbished seafront at Les Sablettes, thousands of newly planted palm trees stand to attention. Hundreds more have been planted to the east of the capital, all along the motorway and the main roads, transforming what used to be known as "white" Algiers into a huge palm grove.

As the 17 April presidential elections draw near, the trees were meant to provide a showcase for the regime's longevity and the renovation of north Africa's largest city. In short an additional argument for the election campaign, launched last month.

source Guardian