Moroccans had high expectations when King Mohammed VI ascended to the throne in July 1999. Few people doubt the new king's genuine modesty and concern for the poor and powerless, but he has yet to appoint a serious team of reformers to deal with Morocco's economic and social ills. The slow pace of change - and recent rollbacks of press freedom and civil liberties - show that the old mechanisms of exercising political authority in Morocco are still in place.