Some departures were more significant than others in a wave of reshuffles of the Algerian political/security establishment during September. The moves seemed to represent an unexpected return to form for ailing head of state Abdelaziz Bouteflika ahead of the April 2014 presidential election, but analysts are divided on their real meaning in an opaque political system that is riven by factional conflicts. One theory suggests the reshuffles were a visible expression of a ‘grand bargain’ between the so-called Bouteflika clan and Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité (DRS) intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Mohammed ‘Tewfik’ Mediene; this might allow key members of the ageing leadership generation to retire.