Almost two weeks after his designation to form a new government, Habib Essid has not yet managed to reconcile all key actors and stakeholders to be able to do so. The Popular Front, with 16 seats in the parliament, had already indicated its decision to stay in opposition as soon as President Caid Essebsi nominated Essid PM. While some observers think that Essebsi’s reference to a possibility of including Ennahdha in the new government might explain Hama Hamami’s (leader of the PF) decision to opt for the opposition, others consider that it was rather an ideological divergence on the social and economic policies with Nidaa Tounes that underpinned Hamami’s decision. Divisions within Nidaa Tounes are not helping Essid’s uphill task either. Last week, Khemaies Ksila, member of the Politburo of Nidaa Tounes, criticised publicly Mohsen Marzouk and Rafaa Ben Achour, two advisers in Essebsi’s cabinet. Ksila considered that both advisers “represent the biggest danger for Nidaa Tounes and Tunisia … and that they act with a clique spirit … in order to dominate the party and exclude elected members of the parliament from consultations to form the government.” Ennahdha’s communique over the weekend, following a two-day meeting of its Consultation (Shura) Council, stated that the Movement is “ready to join the new government in the event of receiving an official invitation and if the consultations would lead to consensus on the government’s project and its priorities.” For Kapitalis, a liberal outlet of the business community in Tunisia, including Ennahdha in the new government would amount to committing political suicide, and Nidaa Tounes would then face the same fate as Moncef Merzouki’s Congress for the Republic and Mustapha Jaafar’s Takattoul parties, which were severely punish by Tunisians in the last legislative and presidential elections.
http://www.kapitalis.com/politique/26742
http://www.kapitalis.com/politique/26822
http://www.ennahdha.tn/
