The Algerian President, Mr Abdelaziz Bouteflika, won his gamble yesterday when the government announced an overwhelming Yes vote in Thursday's referendum.
According to the Interior Minister, Mr Abdelmalek Sellal, 85.06 per cent of the country's 17.5 million registered voters participated in the poll, and 98.63 per cent said they approved of Mr Bouteflika's policy of "working for peace and civil concord".
The tone of the victory was set when Mr Sellal was asked a question about "terrorists" at his press conference - the word has been used by the government to describe its Muslim fundamentalist opponents for the past seven years. "Algeria needs all of its sons," Mr Sellal responded.
Superficially, the Algerian referendum gave the impression that the country woke up one morning and - guided by the paternalistic Mr Bouteflika, now widely and affectionately referred to as "Boutef" - simply decided that 100,000 deaths were enough.
Mr Bouteflika's rhetoric and the strong turnout have created a fragile optimism bordering on euphoria. Rarely has a leader transformed the attitude of an entire country without making any substantive changes. "I will change things in this country from top to bottom," Mr Bouteflika promised after casting his Yes ballot on Thursday.
Mr Bouteflika says he is handling "an explosive society" and that there are limits to what he can do. He wants Algerians to forget what they have done to one another, and he is trying to hold enemies at bay.
On one hand, the "Families of the Victims of Terrorism" oppose his partial amnesty for Islamic fundamentalists. On the other side, the families of up to 18,000 people who were "disappeared" by security forces also demand justice.
Mr Bouteflika listens to their complaints - he says his own nephew is one of the "disappeared" - but does nothing to satisfy them.
"It is better to leave the cover on the well so that no one falls into it," a woman in the massacre village of Bentalha told a reporter from Liberation. "If there is going to be peace in Algeria, it will have to be like that."
Algeria seems to be shifting from opaque management by the military to a more upfront, populist but authoritarian regime.
Aside from a promise to form a new government quickly, there is little indication what Mr Boute flika will do with the carte blanche he received yesterday. Mr Bouteflika's future relations with the army are one of the greatest uncertainties of post-referendum Algeria. Most observers believe he wanted the vote to strengthen his own position vis a vis the generals who put him in office.
He has said that the entire economy of Algeria is "in the hands of ten or 15 people" - and everyone knows that most of them are army generals.
Supporters at his referendum campaign rallies repeatedly told western journalists they feared Mr Bouteflika would be assassinated, like President Mohamed Boudiaf in 1992, if he persists in denouncing corruption. But if some of his speeches hit close to the bone, Mr Bouteflika has not named names. Optimistic economists believe the generals have now accumulated enough sports cars and Paris apartments to be willing to share Algeria's wealth with its people. After choosing seven prime ministers and five presidents since 1992, the military cannot hope to restore confidence abroad if Mr Boute flika's term ends abruptly.
On only two themes has Mr Bouteflika been consistent: his disdain for democracy and his admiration for the army. "Democracy is several decades away", he said in an interview with French television on September 12th.
While he heaps abuse on Algerian politicians, he is careful not to offend the army. He admits that security forces have committed "excesses" in the war. But on referendum day he praised them, saying: "The army should be honoured for its role in preventing the total collapse of the country."