Dispute over Cabinet reshuffle threatens to bring down Tunisia’s divided government
Disagreement over a Cabinet reshuffle in Tunisia intensified a power struggle between the president, prime minister and speaker of parliament that threatens to spill over into street protests by rival blocs and bring down the government.
The dispute has been building since a 2019 election delivered a fragmented parliament and a political outsider as president, creating a constant state of political turmoil in the only country to emerge with an intact democracy from the Arab uprisings a decade ago.
It has come to a head as Tunisia tries to deal with the economic damage from Covid-19, the biggest protests in years and public debt levels that have alarmed capital markets needed to finance the state budget.
If the government falls, appointing a new one could take weeks, further delaying fiscal reforms needed to gain financing.
“Today, the revolution faces its most severe crisis and the solution is dialogue leading to change in the constitution, the political system, the electoral system,” said Zouhair Maghzaoui, head of the Chaab political party, which has backed President Kais Saied in his dispute with Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi.
Mr Saied vowed not to swear in four ministers nominated in a reshuffle by Mr Mechichi, saying each had a possible conflict of interest.
Mr Mechichi, who took office last summer, is backed by Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, head of Ennahda, the only major political party to have weathered Tunisia’s first decade of democracy.
Many Tunisians have been disillusioned by poor economic conditions after 2011.
Meanwhile, a power-sharing system established in a 2014 constitution has led to disagreements between presidents, prime ministers and parliamentary leaders.
Both the parliament and the president are required to approve a prime minister, who has the most executive powers, while the president oversees defence and foreign affairs.
A constitutional court, envisaged to resolve disputes between rival branches of the state, has not been formed yet because none of those in power can agree on judges they trust to be impartial.
Mr Saied wants a presidential system with only a minor role for political parties. Mr Ghannouchi and his allies want a more parliamentary system.
“The president wants to be the main player … he wants a puppet prime minister,” said Sadok Jabnoun, a senior official in the Heart of Tunisia party of jailed media mogul Nabil Karoui.
Protesters against inequality and police abuses have mostly directed their anger at Mr Mechichi and Mr Ghannouchi.
Ennahda has called for its members to demonstrate on Saturday to “protect democracy” and oppose Mr Saied’s rejection of Mr Mechichi’s reshuffle.
Other parties with opposing views have also called for demonstrations.
The spectre of rival protests recalls the extreme polarisation that gripped Tunisia in 2013 and 2014, before Ennahda and a group of secular parties agreed to share power.
Mr Saied, a political outsider, won the 2019 presidential election run-off in a landslide that analysts say he saw as a strong personal mandate and a rejection of the parties that dominate the parliament.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary election left a chamber in which no party had more than a quarter of votes, making it all but impossible for a government to gain stable majority backing.
“I am not ready to back down from my principles,” Mr Saied said of the dispute. He said that the presidency was not a mere “post office” to uncritically receive decisions sent by prime ministers.