Halfway across the ford

With the immolation of the street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi in December 2010, Tunisia ushered in a season of riots labeled "Arab springs".
Ten years after the protests began, Tunisia is practically the only country in the region to have embarked on a democratic path.
Despite the difficulties inherent in an ongoing process, the country is showing its belief in change and institutions despite repeated attempts at destabilization (1).

In this path, characterized by the presence of the Islamist party Ennahda, led by Rachid Ghannouchi and legalized in 2011 and by the secular party Nidaa Tounes, what stands out is, above all, the slow deterioration of the economic situation.
The growth of social inequalities and poverty were among the triggers of the "Jasmine Revolution" of 2010-2011 and the current socio-economic situation, after a decade, does not seem to offer a reassuring picture. According to data from the World Bank, the unemployment rate reaches 18% to rise to 40% among young people, a category that represents about 30% of the total Tunisian population and 43% of the workforce. The difficulties in managing the Covid-19 pandemic were intertwined with political instability, creating situations of tension that were visible throughout the summer (2).
In this transition phase, also characterized by important results such as the collegial process that led to the new constitution of 2014 and the key role played by an active civil society that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015, the nomination takes place. Prime Minister of Najla Bouden Romdhane.

She is the first female premier of an Arab country to be appointed to form a government and this has aroused surprise, especially in the foreign press. The appointment takes place, among other things, at a particularly delicate moment after the President of the Republic Kaïs Saïed in July made the decision to dismiss Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, to suspend parliament and to claim powers from himself. The suspension of parliamentary activities, which many considered a real coup d'état, was justified by Saïed as necessary given the climate of intolerant corruption and political instability that had been established in the country.
The appointment of Najla Bouden Romdhane, a university professor like President Saïed, on the one hand appears as an attempt to bring personalities extraneous to power games into the political arena, on the other hand it can also be read as a maneuver that tends to shift attention from the economic problems facing the country, from the suspension of some fundamental chapters of the Constitution by Saïed and from his conservative attitude on some issues (such as, for example, his opposition in the election campaign to a project of law on equality between men and women on the subject of inheritance).

A poisoned gift, as defined by the president of the Destourien Libre party, Abir Moussi. This is because, following the enactment of decree 117 of 22 September on exceptional measures, Najla Bouden will be subjected to the direct control of the President of the Republic who will preside over the Council of Ministers and his powers will therefore be limited (3).
In any case, this is an important step for the country which entrusts this important institutional position to a woman for the first time (4). However, this appointment must not be seen as exceptional but is part of a process of enhancing the rights of women and their role in society that has been carried out in the country since independence (think, for example, that the right to vote to women was established in Tunisia in 1959 earlier than in many Western countries).
The new government also presents 9 other women ministers, in addition to Prime Minister Bouden, a third of the entire government.

The appointment of the new government after 11 weeks of political vacuum takes place, however, in a tense political climate and in the aftermath of street demonstrations in which Tunisians called for the suspension of exceptional measures.
The President of the Republic stressed the need for such measures to defend the country from rampant corruption by ousting those who have continued to exploit state assets for their own personal interests.
A justification that was not considered sufficient by its political opponents but also by many civil society associations and Tunisian NGOs.

It is certainly too early to understand how the situation will evolve in this small North African country.
Despite President Saïed's commitment to open a national dialogue with the aim of getting Tunisia out of the crisis (first of all by restarting the dialogue with the International Monetary Fund to obtain a $ 4 billion loan), the Ennahda party, the main political force in Parliament, declared the appointment of Najla Bouden Romdhane and her government unconstitutional.

Rosita Di Peri
University of Turin
NP November 2021

(1) In 2013, the assassination of the two progressive leaders of the Tunisian left, Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi, created a climate of tension and fear in the country.
(2) See https://bit.ly/3iV5efW and P. Haski, "La pandémie frappe durament la Tunisie et révèle la faillite de l'État", FranceInter, July 16, 2021 available at https: // bit .ly / 3oV6cfX (accessed October 13, 2021).
(3) Editorial, "Abir Moussi:« Je suisolidire avec la cheffe du gouvernement Najla Bouden ... »", Kapilais, 30 September 2021, available at https://bit.ly/3aA1qfu (accessed on 13 October 2021 ).
(4) Azza Filali, "Najla Bouden, une femme cheffe du gouvernement: belle symbolique!", Leaders, 28 September 2021, available at https://bit.ly/3n71dq3 (accessed on 13 October 2021).

The territory of present-day Tunisia has a very ancient history: it was founded here in 814 BC. Carthage, for centuries the adversary of Rome in the Punic wars.
It was a rich Roman province and, after the birth of Christianity, the seat of many flourishing communities that saw personalities such as Cyprian and Tertullian.
Between the 7th and 8th centuries, Tunisia was conquered by the Arabs and Islamized.
In the 16th century, the Ottomans took control of it, but delegating power to local dynasties and notables.
During the nineteenth century, Tunisia became the object of the imperialist desires of France which had to overcome the Italian competition which also wanted to carve out a role in the colonial race.
Eventually, France prevailed and made Tunisia its own colony in 1881.
In 1956 it became definitively independent and in 1957 the Republic was proclaimed.
A key figure of the first decades of republican life was Habib Bourguiba, protagonist of the struggle for independence, who held power from 1957 to 1987 when he was deposed by General Ben Ali.