Tunisians hold their breath and keep their fingers crossed. They still have a few days left to ensure that 25 July was not just an illusion.
It is that the countdown has begun. The thirty days announced by Kaïs Saïed, the President of the Republic, will end in a week and nothing says that this deadline was not going to be extended since the Constitution allows it.
At all levels, we are now only concerned about the future of this exceptional situation which gave rise to these exceptional decisions and which may have other equally exceptional surprises in store for us.
Only the sanitary has moved
Now, with one week to go before the end of this deadline, is Saïed moving forward? Has he given enough assurances to both his supporters and his protesters?
For the moment, we can say that the President’s revolution is moving forward at a tortoise’s pace and that the concern aroused by Tunisians is quite legitimate, because, whether we like it or not, we do not see the end of the tunnel and the fears coming, although mitigated by the action of July 25, 2021, remain alive.
In terms of actions, only the health situation seems to be doing well with a very good level of vaccination, facilitated by the arrival of large quantities of vaccines and Kaïs Saïed is no stranger to it because it is the diplomatic channels that have made it possible to receive such aid that seemed impossible with the government and Parliament frozen.
However, we do not see the country moving forward quickly at other levels. Is it the fault of the President of the Republic who is unable to accelerate the pace of his reforms? Is it premeditated and programmed? Does foreign interference have anything to do with this slowing down of Said’s programme of action?
Legitimate fears
Faced with such a situation where vagueness remains the order of the day, reactions follow one another to call for the taking of the major measures that are necessary without further delay, such as that of Sadok Chaabane, the former minister and high-advisor of Ben Ali, who believes that “the exceptional measures decided on July 25 are indeed intended to restore to the State its influence, its power and its efficiency”. And he does not hesitate to call on the President of the Republic to amend the Constitution and the electoral law, and to consult the people by referendum.” And he invites it “not to open several fronts at the same time and to neutralize the opposing conspiracy coalitions”.
At other levels, the delay experienced by Kaïs Saïed worries his opponents and detractors, both in Tunisia and abroad where Ennahdha has not failed to move, push and agitate in search of support that would prevent Saïed from going to the end of his intentions.
We have already seen this during the last visit of an American delegation which, in a letter addressed by the American President, brought back the worries and fears for the “survival of democracy imposed by the Arab Spring”.
A long wait
In other words, each side is trying to pull the strings in its favour, even if the American envoys have been able to see, first-hand through their meetings with components of civil society, the Tunisians’ support for their president’s choices and their total opposition to a step backwards in favor of the coalition that was in power and that has done everything to lead the country towards disaster.
For the moment, we remain in a phase of waiting that must not last very long and that must highlight the main lines of the policy advocated by Saïed which must be discussed, also, with the important structures of civil society (UGTT, UTICA, SNJT, LTDH …) in order to give rise to a new model of governance that will allow the country to get rid of its chains and to start again from the front.
Accountability, first and foremost
Thus, Saïed is called to act more quickly and to begin the hoped-for reforms, both political and economic and social, and above all to call to account all those who have harmed this country through corruption, embezzlement and alliances with foreign forces in order to subject a free people to the will of its looters and invaders.
It is true that time is pressing and that Saïed must at least reveal to us some important political and economic guidelines in order to reassure and further strengthen this impressive popular support for a president who has promised to satisfy their demands and to realize their dreams and aspirations.
Translated by Rifi-JDD
