It is remarkable how self-assuredly and skillfully Mohamed Ghanouchi and Foued Mbazaa are managing street anger by juggling the composition of the unity government (keeping old-regime figures in the unity government and disbanding the ruling party).
To be sure, there have been some considerable concessions. Nevertheless, despite daily demonstrations and the resignation of some newly-appointed ministers, Messrs. Ghanouchi and Mbazaa have so far not budged an inch on the crucial demand that old-regime figures be excluded from the unity government. As each day passes, this defiance begins to look more and more like a calculated maneuver to gain time and deplete the energy of the thousands of protesters. Mr. Ghanouchi is artfully borrowing tricks from Ben Ali’s playbook.
Keeping up appearances
Tunisians (myself, at least) do not know much about Mr.Ghanouchi other than that he has been in one way or another in the ruling party and the Tunisian government since 1975. His clean hands and integrity are trumpeted by some in the opposition parties, while others merely point to the need for a skillful technocrat to run the government. What is remarkable about Mr.Ghanouchi is that he has shown a notable talent for political rebirth and malleability.
Mr. Ghanouchi has held his ground and has artfully formed the unity government by tricking the labor union into joining – yet the labor union has no business being part of a government in the first place. And he has defiantly excluded all but three opposition parties from the negotiation and the government. Furthermore, Mr Ghanouchi has not only maintained eight old-regime ministers but has kept among them the very interior minister who was hastily appointed by Ben Ali, in an effort to appease protesters, days after the beginning of the popular movement. Consequently, the interior minister’s first appearance under the unity government was disastrous and brought upon him the ire of the whole Tunisian nation. But Mr. Ghanouchi went even further, appointing a young blogger in a government position and a film director as culture minister.
It seems to me that Mr.Ghanouchi is more concerned with appearances than with creating a true inclusive unity government.
Trickle-down concessions
In the past few days, facing mounting street anger, Mr. Ghanouchi has given in to some demands but not others. Although he still refuses to consider the key demand of changing the composition of the unity government, he willingly gave up his RCD membership, as did the other RCD members in the government.
Renouncing RCD membership is viewed by ordinary Tunisians as no more than a smoke screen and an insult to their intelligence. It is viewed by many, including myself, as another page from Ben Ali’s book of tricks. It does not go far enough to appease protesters but it is enough to give an appearance of understanding of the issues.
We can even predict Mr.Ghanouchi’s next move. It will be limited to excluding one or two of the old-regime figures from the current unity government – probably including the interior minister. But will that be enough?
Who are Mr.Ghanouchi’s Advisors?
Let me start by saying I do not know who Mr. Ghanouchi’s advisors are. They might even be the same people who advised Ben Ali. I suspect that the man is not single-handedly deciding when to cave in and when to hold his ground. I am more than convinced that he or his advisors thoughtfully formed the unity government and carefully chose who should be in it, including the young blogger and the film director, who are clearly meant to give the appearance of openness. I am sure that the decision to keep the old-regime minister was deliberate, just as I am sure that Mr. Ghanouchi expected his decision to anger some if not most Tunisians.
It is hard to know for sure the inner thoughts of Mr.Ghanouchi but it is easy to see the result of his decisions on the ground: a mounting anger and a state of uncertainty, while time is running out for the key deadline of a presidential election within 45 to 60 days. One can only speculate on his reasons for resisting demands to exclude old-regime figures. Did he not expect such anger? Was he betting on people’s anger to wear out? Did he made some promises to foreign powers? Did he genuinely believe that the old figures he kept are the only ones capable of handling the day-to-day running of key ministries? Was he afraid of a state of chaos? Was he afraid that secrets implicating current and former regime figures would be made public? Any of these conjectures may be accurate, but only Mr.Ghanouchi and his shadowy advisors – if they exist – know for sure.
Neji Ali Dhakouani
THE PM ON PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER 14 JAN
BUT THE FOTO OF ZABA BEHIND !!! WHAT HAPPEND ?
what future for TUNISIA ?
I have a gut feeling not to trust this PM.
He is very shrewd and untrustworthy;
Get rid of whole gang.
Getting rid of the whole gang is one solution, but it is important that there is no vacuum in the government in order to run the country. In my opinion, having a vacuum of power might be risky, the machine of governing the country must continue until the elections are held. One cannot change the whole goverment over night, this will take time and we as Tunisians must be patient, particulalry the ones living in Tunisia. The PM must however continue to reassure the people about his good intentions -backed by actions- until the elections are held. I am pleased the army is there to keep order for the moment
We must have an ethical government, a government chosen by the people and willing to serve the people not working against it. And to reach that point, The Tunisian people must purge and get rid of all the old guards, their disciples and cronies of the Ben Ali era…
Thank you
what to say? i guess it’s business as usual for the ruling elite and they are still backed by the ruling party and the media papers and the state rt .
they keep scaring the general public by telling them how dangerous it would be if these people were moved out of power , that such a move will contribute to a deterioration of the economy and that might lead to more joblessness witch is a joke really because they keep telling the tunisians and it seems they are succeeding so far that Ahmed Nejib Chebbi Minister of regional and local development said yesterday on the rt that these protest eventually would die out .
The situation is definitely precarious and in my opinion they are hoping the demonstration would turn violent and they would crackdown the uprising.
i honestly think the american as the french and the other e.u. countries are in constant contact with the actual prime minister , the minister of interior,the minister of foreign affairs and the minister of defense are working by remote for the above mentioned forces and the decisions taking by this temporary government so far are dictated especially by the american administration proof? look what’s happening in libanon and do not forget the democratically held elections in algeria and in palestine.
Their next move is to get rid of the head of the armed forces by probably removing or even killing R. Ammar, arresting members of the opposition that hasted their return to tunisia
the new faces in this temporary government are merely a smoke screen for their activities and a buffer to prevent other major politicians to participate in forging a new constitution.
to help you better understand the situation here is a simple summery of the above mentioned ministers activities
Prime minister – Mohamed Ben Hassouna Ghannouchi
Mohamed Ghannouchi is an old political ally of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and had been Prime Minister in Tunisia since 1999. Ghannouchi has held a position in every government since Ben Ali rose to power in 1987. Ghannouchi is a member of the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) that has in its varied forms has controlled Tunisia since the country gained its independence in 1956.
The prime minister announced that he was assuming power on 14th January. However, one day later, this was repealed as it was announced that in line with the constitution, the speaker of parliament, Foued Mebazaa, was to be sworn in as president instead. Ghannouchi’s educational background and expertise resides within economics; he is regarded as being the driving force behind the economic reform programme started under President Ben Ali.
Defence minister – Ridha Grira
Ridha Grira has been defence minister since January 2010 and is another member of the former government. Prior to this new appointment he was minister of state properties and property affairs for 11 years. He is also a member of the central committee of the ruling RCD. As with Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, Mr Grira’s training is in economics and management, which he studied at France’s Ecole Nationale d’Administration.
Interior minister – Ahmed Friaa
Ahmed Friaa was announced as interior minister on 12th January 2011. Friaa was first appointed to the Tunisian government in 1989. Friaa was served as the minister of communications from 1997. Prior to this, Friaa served as housing minister, education minister and ambassador to Italy.
Foreign minister – Kamel Morjane
Kamel Morjane was first appointed foreign minister in January 2010, retaining this post in the new unity government. Mr Morjane should be regarded as a career diplomat and he was Tunisia’s permanent representative to the UN from 1996 to 1999. After Morjane went onto serve as defence minister between 2005 and 2010. Just a matter of hours before President Ben Ali’s rule collapsed, it was Kamel Morjane who made a widely-reported statement that a national unity government involving Tunisia’s marginalised opposition parties would be a possibility.
Minister of regional and local development – Ahmed Nejib Chebbi
Ahmed Chebbi is one of the three opposition figures appointed to the new government and was a founding member of the Democratic Progressive Party (PDP). Chebbi has proven himself consistently to be one of the most outspoken critics of the government who unusually evaded the typical result for such characters: exile. Despite his outspokenness, Chebbi has remained relatively unknown to the Tunisian public as a result of government media controls. Chebbi has, however, been a popular target for harassment by the Tunisian security forces
Chebbi helped found the PDP in 1983 and stepped down as its leader in 2006. Chebbi actually announced his intention to stand in the 2009 presidential elections, but his campaign was dashed very early by a then recently introduced law prohibiting non-party leaders from standing.
Minister of health – Mustapha Ben Jaafar
Ben Jaafar is the leader of the opposition party, Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties, which he helped to found in 1994. This party was legally recognized as a political party in 2002. Ben Jaafar also submitted his candidacy for the 2009 Tunisian presidential election, but was rejected outright by the Tunisian Constitutional Council. Ben Jaafar is one of the most respected opposition figures and is generally regarded as a moderate.
Minister of higher education – Ahmed Ibrahim
Ahmed Ibrahim is the Secretary-General of the former communist Ettajdid (Renewal) party. He was the main challenger in the October 2009 presidential polls against President Ben Ali. Interestingly, before the polls Ibrahim claimed supporters were unable to campaign on his behalf as his message was deemed to be hostile to the state and to the ruling party.
Secretary of State for Sport and Youth – Slim Amamou
Slim Amamou, a pro-democracy personality, announced in a tweet on 17th January that he had been appointed Secretary of State for Sport and Youth. Amamou is freedom of speech activist and member of the Tunisian Pirate Party. Incredibly, he had been arrested only a few days prior to Ben Ali’s departure on charges of hacking government websites. Slim Amamou was one of the leading figures in the online revolt against the government. Amamou is virulently opposed to the censorship in force in Tunisia under Ben Ali’s government.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Nawaat de Tunisie, Magnificent Bastard. Magnificent Bastard said: Tunisia’s Transitional Government: a page from the Ben Ali playbook » Nawaat de Tunisie – Tunisia http://t.co/nok7zvR […]
Well it would be very naive to believe that this “gang of wolves” would give up power on the demand of the Tunisian people! They are all opportunistic since they all (including the 3 so called opposition parties) in one form or another have accepted to work within a totally corrupt system and benefited from its weaknesses and from the people. They are only waiting for their turn to take the power for the power and not for serving the people or the country as they “claim”.
The whole so called “transitional gvt” has to resign and a majliss ta’ssissi (or constitutional counsel) has to be created from the civil society reps and any political tendency whom is willing to be inclusive and work with the rest of teh society on re-writing the constitution while maintaining the essential services until the free elections are organized.
Juste un petit cris:
LES HABITANTS DE TUNIS DEVRONT DONNER DE L’AIDE (materiel et moral) AUX GENS VENANTS DE SIDI BOUZID ET D’AUTRES REGIONS DE L’INTERIEUR…
Vraimenet ce geste doit demontrer notre solidarite et doit donner une tres bonne impression aupres des medias qui nous regardent! Ces gens sone venus pour aider les Tunisois! Donc, les Tunisois doivent leur donner un peu de nourriture, de l’eau, couvertures etc… (c’est symbilique plus to que….)
Malheureusement, je ne suis pas en Tunisie mais tous ce que je peux faire pour l’instant…
Un de nos jeunes peut distribuer cet appel via Facebook, Tweeter etc… Merci
This happened! I was heartned by seeing on National TV yesterday that people from Tunis brought food, clothes, covers to those who came from far away to protest… One of the PROTESTERS WAS REALLY HEARTNED BY THIS ACT AND THANKED THE PEOPLE FROM TUNIS… That’s solidarity and we should highlight this!!!
Now Ghannoushi tries to use the Al Qaeda fear to stick to his chair.
If al Qaeda existed as such a strong organization (and not just a name that can be used by any group of brainless apprentice terrorists to boast themselves), please explain us why they didn’t use the airport chaos in Europe and the US in december to do any action within these crowds of waiting people and easy targets in a disorganized traffic ?
@ Iman
al Qaeda no more exist, I think also O.ben laden die since 1999 in Dubai Hospital.
but there is many new groups do their Business,
and the Arab Dictators and oil Prince need TERRORISM also make BUSINESS, even if some Eurp.Bankier if they habe a problem ..they said thats caused by al Qaida…thats only a FANTOM of OPERA ….
Deaf and Dumb
What on earth is the matter with these residual power hunters who do not seem to understand that their time is up? Their former boss was deaf and dumb and had never had the intelligence to look round him outside the gates of his flattering entourage: hypocritical advisors, sycophants, collectors of gold medals at the expense of their oppressed fellow citizens.
Fifty five years of oppression under the yoke of one-party tyrannical system has produced a governing elite of indifferent technocrats turned politicians who care very little about Tunisians, but propagate vaguely that they want to save Tunisia or the Tunisian State!
However, their aim is to keep the status – quo by constantly singing the same old song: save the State. As a matter of course the State which they want to save cannot be saved unless all “BenAli-ministers” disappear and thus make it possible for new skilled faces to temporarily run the country until the elections can take place. In this way one can work together with all political party’s and other pressure groups on saving 95% of the Tunisian population and thus save the State. The State cannot be saved unless one ensures the safety of the masses.
Please go away, Mr. Gannouchi and take with you your residuary ministers of defense, Home office, Foreign Affairs and all the rest! Tunisia is better off without you all power hunters of old command!
Tunisia mus better by UN org.
and NO more place for DICTATORs
Our trust in Mr Ghannouchi and his government diminishes with each passing day. When the demonstrators started asking Ben Ali to leave, it only took him a few days to oblige. How come Mr Ghannouchi and his ministers are still at the helm, almost 10 days after the Tunisian people clearly expressed its anger over their staying in the government? I’m growing more and more suspicious of this guy. If he really has the country’s interests at heart like he says, HE HAS TO GO!
Le peuple tunisien est en train de vous suivre de prêt et il vous a donne une chance car vous avez travaille pendant des années avec l ancien dictateur jusqu’ a maintenant vous n avez fait aucune déclaration a propos des événements et des changements que vous avez décide pour ne pas dire plutard que ce n ai pas moi qui a décide.Si vous voulez des conseilles , il vaut mieux contacter des anciens comme si Ahmed mestiri , Ahmed ben Salah Mansour maala Chelly Ayar etc… et ne pas téléphoner a hammam Sousse pour chercher des gens de l ancien régime.
Désole mais j’ai du mal à suivre votre raisonnement et insinuation. Pouvez vous clarifiez?
Neji