Bouteflika's 80th Birthday Passed, With No Sign of Bouteflika

On March 3, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika turned 80 years old. He made no public appearances. Recall that a few weeks ago, Bouteflika canceled a visit by Angela Merkel because he had bronchitis (or perhaps "bronchitis").

This time there was no mention of bronchitis to explain Bouteflika's nonappearance; appearances have been rare since his stroke in 2013 (despite election to another term after that), and when he is seen, he is wheelchair-bound.

The ruling FLN Party has announced that Bouteflika is fine. Any questions?