Kais Saied is under increasing pressure because the citizens are refusing to support him in the radical restructuring of the political system. Now, in an incendiary speech, he has insulted his critics as traitors and foreign mercenaries.
Tunisian President Kais Saied is increasingly isolated.
After the severe setback in the parliamentary elections, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied has drastically sharpened his tone towards his critics. in an im televised speech Speaking to members of the cabinet on Wednesday evening, the head of state described critical journalists and experts as traitors and accused them of insulting the state and endangering national security. Saied repeatedly held up a note during the angry speech and threatened that he knew the names of those “who threw themselves into the arms of the enemy as mercenaries”.
While Prime Minister Najla Bouden and the Ministers of Defence, Home Affairs and Justice listened in silence, the President indulged in somber insinuations and savage threats. He will not allow “our country and our people to be easy prey for wolves,” Saied said, calling on the judiciary to punish anyone who insulted and degraded state institutions and symbols. Their disparagement is tantamount to “a conspiracy against the state”.
“Threats of violence, prison, purges,” wrote the Tunisian Activist Ahlem Hachicha on Twitter. «Meant and understood as a declaration of war. A war against anyone who disagrees with him or who questions his lonely journey into the unknown.” Saied’s suggestion that journalists, politicians and activists received money from abroad was “typical of the pseudo-nationalism of populist movements,” said Hachicha.
Criticism of Saied’s lonely course mounts
The president has been under increasing pressure since only 11 percent of eligible voters turned out in the December 17 general election. The record low turnout was widely interpreted as a vote of no confidence in Saied’s radical overhaul of the system. The opposition then called on the head of state to resign and called for new elections. The powerful trade union confederation UGTT spoke out in favor of a national dialogue.
The former law professor won the presidential election in October 2019 with a promise to complete the 2011 revolution. In view of the serious economic and health crisis in the country, he deposed the government in July 2021, suspended parliament and seized power himself. A year later, he had a new constitution passed, which significantly weakened the rights of representatives of the people and gave the presidency extensive powers.
After many Tunisians initially welcomed his seizure of power, resistance is now growing. Contrary to initial hopes, the 64-year-old constitutional lawyer has no remedy for the economic crisis. On the contrary: Under Saied, the misery has only worsened. Tunisia urgently needs a new loan from the International Monetary Fund, but after the election the talks on the subject were initially postponed.
A sense of deja vu in Tunisia
The President’s incendiary speech is causing concern among journalists and politicians. The vice-president of the journalists’ association, Amira Mohamed, warned at a protest rally an “acute threat to press freedom”.
Activist Hachicha wrote on Twitter that there is a feeling of deja vu in Tunisia. Many remembered the speech of the long-term ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali exactly twelve years ago, in which he attacked his opponents and threatened them with harsh measures.
Just two weeks later, Ben Ali was ousted during the Arab Spring protests. Of course, there are no signs of an uprising against Saied at the moment. Many Tunisians are disappointed with democracy and hold all parties equally responsible for the misery. The poorest are so preoccupied with their survival that they have turned their backs on politics altogether. Meanwhile, the young are leaving the country in droves for Europe.
Voices are increasing calling for a national dialogue led by the UGTT in order to find a way out of the political crisis. The union federation called on Wednesday for the end of January two-day general strike by transport workers on. The walkout is likely to further increase the pressure on Saied. Since the new constitution does not provide for the possibility of deposing the president, Saied would have to clear the way for new elections himself.