RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Morocco's elusive King Mohammed VI inaugurates parliament Friday in a speech with far higher stakes than his annual addresses as anti-government protests have swept the nation's cities and questioned the government's spending priorities.

He’s the country’s highest authority, but Mohammed VI rarely addresses the public and often leaves it to ministers or members of the royal family to represent Morocco internationally. Decades ago dubbed Morocco’s “King of the Poor,” he now faces a public expressing disillusionment with slow progress and widening economic divides.

Since Sept. 27, protesters have filled the streets of more than a dozen Moroccan cities, denouncing the billions being poured into preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Angered by underfunded school

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