The facts are undisputed: Tunisian President Kais Saied appointed the Prime Minister in July laid off and parliament suspended. Compatriots differ on how this move should be interpreted.
Proponents call it a necessary evil, designed to tackle corruption. Critics consider it a coup d’état: due to the resignation of the prime minister, all power now rests with the Saied elected in 2019. These Tunisians are afraid that he is drawing more and more power to himself.
For example, last week a television journalist and a member of parliament were arrested for criticizing the president in a broadcast. The MP was released a few days later. It TV station where the conversation between the two was shown has since been taken off the air.
Journalist Fairouz Ben Salah who lives in Tunis follows developments closely. “One of the organizers of the protest was recently harassed by the police, which is just intimidation. Roads to the protest are blocked. The polarization is increasing. It even goes so far that there are signs with the names of opponents. According to the supporters. are they traitors and should be ‘lynched’.”
At the same time, there are demonstrations from supporters of the president. According to Ben Salah, many Tunisians see Saied as a hero, as the man who ended a government that was not functioning. With politicians who are corrupt and a bad economy, people crave change, she says.
“There were regular fights in parliament,” said Ben Salah. “During corona they had too few vaccines in Tunisia, no oxygen masks, people died. You have to imagine that people then see on TV how parliamentarians attack each other. Then it is not surprising that you think that democracy does not work .”
–
