Perhaps the most significant nomination was that of Pierrot Rajaonarivelo, a former close ally of Mr Ratsiraka, as state minister for economics and industry. Mr Rajaonarivelo was national secretary of Mr Ratsiraka's Alliance pour la Renaissance de Madagascar (Arema) party from 1997 to 2009. He was the leading light of the party's modernising tendency, but lost influence as Mr Ratsiraka took a more active role in Arema affairs. By early 2010 he had found a new berth, in the small Mouvement pour la démocratie. Meanwhile, Elysée Ratsiraka, a younger brother of the former president, became minister for energy; but it is unclear how far his participation represents a rapprochement between the two camps.