New govt faces testing start

TUNIS: The new Tunisian unity government headed by Youssef Chahed took office yesterday in the birthplace of the Arab Spring and will have to tackle a raft of challenges ranging from major economic woes to security concerns.

At 40, Mr Chahed is Tunisia’s youngest prime minister since independence from France in 1956, and the seventh in less than six years since the 2011 uprising that ousted strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

His new cabinet of 26 ministers and 14 ministers of state includes three members of the Islamist Ennahda party, two former members of the powerful UGTT union and several independents.

It formally took office at a 9am ceremony in Carthage, just outside Tunis, during which outgoing premier Habib Essid handed over power.

While Tunisia is considered to be a rare success story of the Arab Spring, the authorities have failed to resolve the issues of poverty, unemployment and corruption that preceded Mr Ben Ali’s fall.

A wave of jihadist attacks, including two deadly assaults last year that killed dozens of foreign tourists, have further exacerbated problems in the economy, which relies heavily on tourism revenues.

Analysts say it is too soon to tell if Mr Chahed can restore security and revitalise Tunisia’s battered economy which grew by just 0.8% last year compared with 2.3% in 2014.

“It is difficult to say if this last-minute government will have the time to prove it is efficient,” said political analyst Slaheddin Jourchi.

“Current indicators give the impression that failure may be closer than success,” he said.

The new government won a vote of confidence in parliament on Friday, with 167 out of 217 lawmakers in favour of the line-up.