Trouble with a Texan

Throughout the four years of his nation's independence, earnest King Mohammed V has tried to find politicians who will govern Morocco to suit him. The first government he installed collapsed because the main political party, Istiqlal (Independence ), thought the Premier was too pro-French. Since December 1958, Premier Abdallah Ibrahim, 41, has governed at the head of an uneasy coalition whose backbone was the leftist Union Nationale des Forces Popnlaires. He devalued the Moroccan franc, obtained U.S. agreement to the evacuation of air and naval bases by 1963, talked of sweeping economic reforms and nibbled away at the King's control of the national police.

Discarded Grease. Mohammed V is all for progress, too. but at his own pace. There were ample signs that Ibrahim's time was up. In February the King's police arrested many of Ibrahim's close friends on the charge of plotting against the life of Crown Prince Moulay Hassan. Istiqlal right-wingers charged that the Premier had the "evil eye." and was therefore responsible for such national disasters as the Agadir earthquake (12,000 dead). Then last week Ibrahim meddled in the close friendship between Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and U.S. Lieut. Commander Leon Blair. It was, said a palace courtier, "the last straw."

Both the Crown Prince and the lieu tenant commander share a natural flam boyance. At 31, Moulay Hassan is a slim, handsome young man with a taste for fast cars, fleet horses. French starlets, huge signet rings and narrow, pointed shoes. Commander Blair, 43, is a brash, talkative Texan who describes Moulay Hassan as "one of the most able men alive today." As public relations officer at the U.S. naval base at Kenitra, Blair kept the prince supplied with gifts from the PX. He further endeared himself to court circles by presenting attractive Princess Lalla Aisha, 29, with a cowgirl outfit donated by Dallas' Neiman-Marcus specialty store, and by flying four prairie dogs from Texas to Morocco for the King's private zoo.

Diverted Attention. When Blair's appointment as P.R.O. ended in April, Crown Prince Moulay Hassan asked the U.S. embassy to assign Blair to the palace as a liaison officer "indefinitely." The matter came before Premier Ibrahim for routine approval. Instead, he declared it "would not be in Moroccan interest" to accredit him. It was Ibrahim's last official action.

Last week King Mohammed V made a radio broadcast informing the nation of the identity of the new Premier: King Mohammed himself. He added, in a low, tired voice, that most of the administrative work would be performed by Crown Prince Moulay Hassan as his deputy. At week's end Lieut. Commander Blair was installed in an office in the royal palace at Rabat, next door to the crown prince.

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