At the time of the 1991 legislative election, which was won by the Islamic Salvation Front, Mediene joined a group of ruling generals in "Les éradicateurs" ("the Eradicator") faction. This name derives from the goal of eradicating the Islamists, as opposed to negotiating with them. This group is regarded as behind the military coup that followed the election's first round. The Eradicator faction is regarded to have gained and held power during the civil war triggered by the military coup. Since the 1992 coup, a "shadowy" group of generals and intelligence officers known to the Algerians collectively as "le pouvoir" (“the power”) and whose individual members are called "décideurs" has dominated Algerian politics with the FLN reduced down to a mere front for "le pouvoir". Little is known for certain about "le pouvoir", but Mediene has frequently been mentioned as a leading "décideur". Officially, the languages of Algeria are Arabic and Berber, but in practice, most Algerians speak a language called Darija that is a mixture of Arabic, Berber and French, which explains why French expressions are often used in Algeria. Arabic has been the official language of Algeria since 1962, but French remains the language of power in Algeria and cabinet meetings are conducted in French, the language of the Algerian elite, who often struggle with Arabic.