Parliamentary elections, presidential elections, the forming of a new government – Tunisia’s young democracy has covered many milestones within the last months. What picture of Tunisia has been conveyed in German media during this important period in history? The following is an overview of how German journalists portray the political situation in Tunisia at the moment and which aspects catch their interest.
If major political forces succeeded in controlling the Kasbah, it was largely due to inadequate management on the part of the youth who were the driving force of the occupation.
It’s hard to believe, when you’re in Redeyef, that this town is one of the richest in the whole of Tunisia. It’s also in Redeyef that we see the real meaning of social injustice. Despite the four hundred thousand tons of phosphate mined there every year, the twenty-seven thousand inhabitants of Redeyef have, for decades now, had access to just one school, one poorly equipped hospital, and a deserted youth centre.
In the past few days, several Tunisian hacking attacks targeted governmental and media websites. Following the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, the same group of Tunisian islamists hackers, that is called “Fallaga”, claimed the responsibility of the #Jesuispascharlie cyberattack that targeted more than 150 French websites. The group had also hacked the Tunisian Journalists Union website after it expressed its support for the French satirical weekly newspaper, Charlie Hebdo.
The article presents the situation in Kasserine, but in fact the water problem and challenges are common in most of the countries in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. Water scarcity is one of the most urgent issues and binding constraints for food security and agricultural development in these countries. Let us look at some striking numbers published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO):
“In a single day, Tunisia’s military court imposed prison sentences on a union leader and a blogger for speech offenses, even though neither was present for his trial,” said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “This is not worthy of the new Tunisia.”
After Kairouan in the center of the country and Sejnane in the north, we set out for Kasserine, where the rate of access to potable water for the majority of delegations throughout the governorate is less than the national average, a fact which exacerbates the plight of vulnerable and poor segments of the population with limited access to potable water at best, and nothing more than contaminated drinking water at worst.
n their presidential electoral campaigns, both candidates used the same communication vehicles including public speeches, in-field visits with different number and destinations of visits, press conferences and TV interviews. The slogan of the electoral presidential campaign of both candidates focuses on the word “Tunisia.”
This Sunday I endorsed the role of area observers’ supervisor, in charge of eleven voting centers and about as many national observers for the second round of the Tunisian presidential elections. The elections went great, a few minor incidents here and there, nothing to discredit the electoral process. Just like French radio journalist Anthony Bellanger said on RFI this Monday – the Tunisian elections couldn’t be more boring to comment, just like Swiss elections. However throughout the day I kept receiving phone calls warning me about vote buying, influence on electors and so on and so forth.
In this extremely polarized electoral context, how did the media frame the public discussion and shaped the public opinion? A very bad role, if one believes the 3rd report of Independent High Authority for Audio-Visual Communication (Haica) on the political pluralism, which points the partiality of the audio-visual coverage of the presidential campaigns. Furthermore, the press took a dangerous turn when being engulfed in shifting sands of propaganda and voluntary complicity. But these repetitions seem to worry neither the politicians, nor the journalists.
It is not a secret that lobbies exist in Tunisia. But who are these influential groups that make and demolish the political decisions ? Tunisian activists, who call for more transparency, tried to shed some light one these networks through a network graph which is likely to shake these opaque and complex spheres.
Media coverage of the MENA region is plagued by blanket statements and superficial analysis. International news outlets reserve even the right to name events. The so-called Arab Spring is an example of a de facto forced label. I will proceed to call the events bundled as such, rightfully and as their proponents overwhelmingly agree: Arab Revolutions. To the matter at hand: Tunisia’s ongoing general elections are hailed as the sole success-story of the Arab revolutions. Democratic transitions are complicated and that statement is a gross Orientalist over-simplification.
Formerly, it was called the attic of Rome. Nowadays, Tunisia does not manage any more to fill its needs into agri-food sector. The sector suffers, since decades, from a bad management which weakens it. The repercussions of corruption, nepotism and the non-planned privatization carried by the old regime, largely, contributed to this crisis.
The 3rd edition of the Arab Internet Governance Forum ‘Arab IGFIII’ was the opportunity to notice how the global debate on Internet Governance has spurred the regional and local discussions on Internet Governance related topics.
The prevalence of mud throwing and below-the-belt jabs, the blatant lack of engagement in the very social and economic issues that were at the heart of uprisings four years ago, are certainly not features of a political scene that promises the effective leadership or imminent reforms for which Tunisians have so hoped.
The symbolism of being the first and only female in the running for president is at once a defining strength and weakness of Kannou’s candidacy. Aside from this factor and given her dynamism in an election that is largely based on personality, Kannou’s lack of specific, pragmatic socio-economic project proposals limits her potential outstanding status amongst her political rivals in this election in spite of what international media might have liked to idealize.
Never underestimate the killer instincts of a class whose power and influence are under threat. They bite back, and hard. For make no mistake, with the huge margin of victory Nidaa Tounis managed to muster a few weeks ago in the legislative elections, the bite was a sizable one and subsequently any chance of fundamental social and political change have been dealt an unquantifiable blow.
In this last phase of electoral campaigning, our presidential candidates have flooded television and radio stations to present their political programs. While some have limited public communication to a discourse concerning the constitionally-imposed attributes of a president, others appeal to undecided voters with a discourse devoted to populist issues, and still others have made far-fetched promises that are well beyond their capacity to keep.
