Tunisia’s Ruling Party Threatens to Quit Government Over `Coup’

TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tunisia’s ruling Nidaa Tounes party demanded on Thursday that its members pull out of the cabinet or face suspension after Prime Minister Youssef Chahed announced a partial reshuffle without consulting President Beji Caid Essebsi.

The cabinet changes strengthened Chahed’s hand but deepened a rift with Essebsi as the government seeks to shore up support to tackle strong inflation and strained finances. Both men are members of Nidaa Tounes, which has informally splintered into two factions — one that courts the moderate Islamist Ennahda party that’s kept Chahed in power and another that opposes it.

Essebsi said in a press conference he was “very dismayed” by the prime minister’s actions. “I am the head of state and they should respect the position of head of state,” he said.

Nidaa Tounes said in its statement that Chahed’s reshuffle — which changed 10 ministers but didn’t affect the finance and interior portfolios — allowed Ennahda to seize power.

The party “calls on the sisters and brothers who are members of the government from the Nidaa Tounes party to immediately withdraw from this government, given that it’s the Ennahda coup government,” it said.

Won’t Block
Essebsi said he wouldn’t try to block the new ministers from joining the government when parliament votes for the reshuffle. But in its statement, Nidaa Tounes called on its members to object to such a vote or consider themselves out of the party.

Non-compliance would be “considered as a complete departure from the party and resignation from all its structures,” it said. No date has been set for the vote.

Chahed announced the appointments in a speech on state television late Monday. The changes included the transport and justice ministers, and the naming of a Jewish businessman as tourism minister — a rarity in Arab countries.

Struggling Economy
Tunisia’s coalition government has, like its predecessors, struggled to revive an economy battered in the wake of the 2011 uprising that ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Terrorist attacks, including a suicide bombing in the capital last week, along with repeated labor strikes and political infighting, have hampered efforts to stimulate growth and cut costs, key elements in a reform program backed by the International Monetary Fund.

Essebsi has said he would no longer work with Ennahda, which controls 69 seats in parliament, second only to Nidaa Tounes. The faction in the ruling party that opposes Ennahda and is headed by Essebsi’s son, has been pushing for Chahed to step down or go to parliament to seek a vote of confidence.

Chahed, who continues to count on the Islamists’ support, may win parliamentary approval for his cabinet changes over the president’s objections. Law professor Jaouhar Ben Mbarek said Essebsi’s approval wasn’t needed so long as the reshuffle didn’t include the defense and foreign ministers.

Source: Bloomberg Business News