Beji Caid Essebsi’s statement on a French TV channel, in which he declared that it was thanks to “Ennahdha, Islamists and Jihadi Salafis that Moncef Marzouki managed to go through to the second round of presidential elections” has triggered a string of anti-Nidaa Tounes protests throughout the southern towns of Tunisia. At first ignored by the privately-owned TV & radio stations and even the public TV channels, the protests in Mednine, Tataouine, Gabes, Ben Guerdane etc. dominated the political debate last week. Unlike Ennahdha and Marzouki, Nidaa Touness and Caid Essebsi fared poorly in the recent legislative and presidential elections in the south. Essebsi soon found himself under criticism while his entourage started a PR campaign to control the damage. Nidaa Tounes even nominated a parliamentarian from the south to lead the party’s bloc in the recently elected parliament. Ennahdha’s decision, last week, to uphold its neutrality in the second round was no surprise, since its base has already chosen Marzouki in the first round of elections. Likewise, Afak Tounes and the Popular Front’s pledges to support Caid Essebsi in the second round were a mere formality. Throughout Tunisia’s post-independence history, the south has always been at the heart of social upheaval that has rocked the country. This was the case in the 1984 bread revolt, the 2008 Ben Guerdane protests, and the 2011 Ben Bouzid uprising.
