Tunisian secular opposition says it may set up rival ‘salvation government’ to challenge Islamist leadership

TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia’s secular opposition, angered by two assassinations in its ranks and emboldened by the recent overthrow of Egypt’s president, said on Sunday that it was considering the creation of an alternative “salvation government” to challenge the Islamist-led leadership.

If put into practice, the move would mark a significant escalation by the country’s opposition groups, who say they have no interest in reconciliation with the ruling Ennahda party.

“We will meet this evening to discuss creating a new salvation government and will study the possibility of nominating a new prime minister to replace this failed government,” said Jilani Hammami, a leader of the Salvation Front coalition and Tunisian Workers’ Party.

“There is no longer any doubt that the time for it to go has passed.”

Tunisians are bracing for what many worry may be one of the most tumultuous and critical periods in their transition to democracy since the toppling of autocratic former president Zein El Abidine Ben-Ali in 2011, a revolt that inspired uprisings across the Arab world.

Last Thursday, assailants gunned down opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi – the second assassination of a secular political leader in six months.

The secular opposition blames the Islamist Ennahda party for the killing and protests have erupted in the capital Tunis as well as other provincial cities. Inspired by the mass protests in Egypt that saw the army oust and detain Islamist former president Mohamed Morsi, the secular opposition is already poised to mobilize against the Islamist-dominated government.

Critics of the Tunisian opposition say the campaign is threatening stability during a fragile transition process.

Tunisian Parliament Speaker Mustafa Ben-Jaafar said on Saturday that the government was discussing a new power-sharing deal and urged lawmakers withdrawing from the transitional Constituent Assembly to reconsider.

“It’s not rational to throw in the towel just meters away from the finish line,” he said in a televised speech.

Ben-Jaafar, a member of one of the secular partners in the Ennahda-led government, said the body was only weeks away from finishing a new constitution.

But the opposition position has hardened.

“The opposition completely rejects all efforts at reconciliation presented by the head of the Constituent Assembly in terms of expanding powers,” Hammami told Reuters.

By Sunday, the number of parliamentarians who had withdrawn from the 217member body had risen to 64. The lawmakers were expected to join a sit- in protest outside the parliament.

Demonstrations started there on Saturday after Brahmi’s funeral and drew thousands of people in the largest demonstration the capital has seen in months. Hundreds of pro-Ennahda demonstrators took part in a rival rally, signaling the possibility that the protests may descend into violence.

Police used tear gas to disperse protests in Tunis as well as Sidi Bouzid, the birthplace of the Tunisian revolution and hometown of the slain Brahmi.