By Rasheed al-Jarai
TUNIS (AA) – Tunisia entered a new political era this week after the country’s parliament voted to withdraw confidence from the government of Habib Essid, who assumed office following 2014 legislative polls.
On Saturday, lawmakers passed a vote of no confidence in Essid, leaving Tunisia in need of a new government and in a state of relative instability — a condition that has dogged the country’s development since the 2011 “Arab Spring” uprisings.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s parliamentary vote, Essid had said that he was aware that the vote would “likely go against me”.
A mere three MPs supported Essid, while a whopping 118 voted against him.
Essid’s coalition government, which assumed office in February of last year, had needed 109 votes in its favor — a simple majority of the 217-seat assembly — in order to stay in power.
The Tunisian public now awaits the formation of a government of “national unity”, first proposed in June by President Beji Caid Essebsi.
Some experts in Tunisian affairs believe that members of the outgoing ruling coalition will continue to lead the upcoming government.
“The shape of the upcoming government will probably hold few surprises for the Tunisian people,” Wadi Benissa, a political science professor at the University of Tunis, told Anadolu Agency.
“The four parties that make up the current ruling coalition will probably be represented in the new government; many ministers will likely maintain their posts,” he said.
– ‘Bold’
Nevertheless, Benissa asserted, the upcoming government would likely face even greater challenges than those faced by the last one.
“The marginalization of Essid by the coalition parties was intended to restore the confidence of the Tunisian people, who were dissatisfied by the last government’s performance,” he asserted.
“Putting responsibility for the [outgoing government’s] failure on Essid was a political maneuver by the coalition parties, which want to deflect the popular anger that came as a result of a series of national crises,” he added.
That being said, he went on, the upcoming government was likely to face escalating economic and social crises “due to worsening development indicators and rising unemployment”.
Benissa called for a “bold and independent” prime minister to lead the next government.
Tunisia, he said, needs a prime minister “who is not shackled by his respective political party; who can apply the rule of law; and who can look out for his country’s interests far from narrow partisan interests”.
Mehdi Mabrouk, a former culture minister, said the new government would likely include three basic components — “a partisan component that will take some three quarters of the government, independent figures, and technocrats linked to national organizations”.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Mabrouk went on to note that the incoming government would also likely have to contend with “money lobbies and corrupt mafias”.
While declining to elaborate on the identities of these “lobbies” and “mafias”, he asserted: “Essid was largely a victim of these groups”.
“Essid was also a victim of the [Essebsi] family,” he added, in reference to the increasing influence President Essebsi’s son, Hafez.
“The influence of this family may increase further, which could pose a challenge for the next government,” Mabrouk said.
– Challenges
Mabrouk also agreed with Benissa that Tunisia would likely face mounting economic and social challenges.
“Therefore,” he said, “the upcoming phase must focus on the elimination of corruption and the enforcement of law, which for much of the public is the priority.”
Tunisia was the birthplace of the “Arab Spring” uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa in 2011.
Several of the region’s longtime leaders were ousted by the revolts, including Tunisia’s Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak.
Since Ben Ali’s government collapsed in the wake of Tunisia’s uprising, the country has had seven different governments.
In the more than five years since the Arab Spring, the country’s economic growth has foundered, failing to exceed 1 percent during this year’s first quarter.
The Tunisian dinar, meanwhile, has lost value vis-à-vis the dollar, while unemployment rates have surpassed 15 percent.
What’s more, tourism — a traditional pillar of the Tunisian economy — was hard hit by a series of terrorist attacks that occurred in 2015.
According to the Tunisian Tourism Ministry, overall tourism revenue declined by 38 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.
