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Subscribe to RSSTunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigned on Tuesday after failing to replace a government pulled apart by acrimony between his Islamist allies and their secular opponents.
Str / EPA
Tunisia's Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali speaks as he announces his resignation during a news conference in Tunis, Tunisia, Feb. 19, 2013. Jebali resigned after his attempt to form a government of technocrats failed.
Jebali had threatened to quit if his plan for a non-partisan cabinet of technocrats to lead the north African country into early elections foundered.
In the end it was his own party, Ennahda, that rejected the proposal, prolonging the political stand-off that has cast a shadow over Tunisia's fledgling democracy and deepened an economic crisis.
"I vowed that if my initiative did not succeed, I would resign and ... I have already done so," Jebali told a news conference after meeting with President Moncef Marzouki.
Tunisia's deepest political crisis since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali began when leading secular opposition politician Chokri Belaid was gunned down outside his home in Tunis on Feb. 6.
No one claimed responsibility for the killing, but it deepened the misgivings of secularists who believe Jebali's government has failed to deal firmly enough with religious extremists threatening the country's stability.
Protesters poured onto the streets in the following days and Marzouki's secularist party threatened to quit the coalition government.
Jebali said he would try to form a cabinet of apolitical technocrats to restore calm and take Tunisia to elections, but did not consult his Ennahda allies or their secular coalition partners before making the proposal.
Several secular politicians backed the plan but Ennahda, winner of most parliamentary seats in elections that followed Ben Ali's overthrow, opposed the idea, fearing it would be sidelined from power.
Country in 'real trouble'
Jebali bet his own job on the outcome, saying he would quit if he was rebuffed, and lost.
He quits 15 months into the job, although political experts said Marzouki was likely to re-appoint him as caretaker premier before a new leader is appointed.
Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi has said he wants to see Jebali head a new coalition. President Marzouki was due to meet Ghannouchi on Wednesday to ask him to name a prime minister.
But Jebali, announcing his resignation late on Tuesday, said he would not lead another government without assurances on the timing of fresh elections and a new constitution.
No government would be viable without Ennahda's blessing given its strength in parliament.
Ghannouchi has said it is essential that Islamists and secular parties share power now and in the future, and that his party was willing to compromise over control of important ministries such as foreign affairs, justice and interior.
"Ennahda is in negotiations with political parties to form a national coalition government", said Fethi Ayadi, a senior Ennahda official.
Iyed Dahmani, a leader of the secular Republican Party, said some kind of agreement was vital.
"We are in real trouble, politically and economically," he said.
The crisis has disrupted efforts to revitalize an economy hit hard by the disorder that followed the overthrow of veteran strongman Ben Ali.
Tunisia has been negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a $1.78 billion loan and politicians said Jebali's inability to re-establish a functioning government had slowed efforts to restore normality.
Credit rating service Standard and Poor's said on Tuesday it had lowered its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit rating on Tunisia, citing "a risk that the political situation could deteriorate further amid a worsening fiscal, external and economic outlook."
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Another "triumph" from Obama's Arab Spring policy! Islamist extremists in charge and opposition leaders gunned down. "What's the difference?", Hillary Clinton would ask. Why not turn all of North Africa into Muslim extremist states that are enemies of America, Barack? That's what your Dad wanted!
Have to agree on this one. But this is exactly what Obama wanted war misery and the extremists killing the secularists. Treachery has always been mothers milk to Muslim dominated countries.
The first two fruitcakes have logged in!
yep, mike and fight are fruitcakes. "this is what obama wanted"? lol. How is obama responsible for tunesia? And how are these "islamic extremists? you haters don't even understand the words apparently.
Too bad.Who will fill the vacuum? More Isalmic terrorists and another sharia jihad police state.Let´s hope the secular people in Tunisia with the help of the army can take over .Nice dream...Even though he was an Islamist he seemed much more sane than the finatics in Egypt and Turkey.VERY bad news!
fruitcakes? lol, you're funny. No, "fruitcakes" = crazies. And in this case, its the truth. :)
why would I hurl "gay insults"? you're weird. :)
I think you are funny AND weird. They aren't mutually exclusive you know. :)
and no, I don't work psych hotlines. lol.
I just make fun of your silly posts. :)
you STILL refuse to do anything other than whine about obama. What would YOU have done differently...exactly? why are you too afraid to answer? I guess you can whine easily, but your intelligence is lacking? :)
"Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigned on Tuesday after failing to replace a government pulled apart by acrimony between his Islamist allies and their secular opponents."
We have new terms: "secular" and "Muslims"; Islam and "love" and "peace"!!!
These foreign policy blunders of replacing secular governments with radical theocratic governments in ME and Africa under Obama are moving much faster than carter's blunder did in Iran - much faster.
"under obama"? you mean obama removed the secular gov'ts? lol? really? Obama partially contributed to libya, and bush did iraq and afghanistan directly, so most of the blunder seems like bush? :)
Afghanistan was secular? And Egypt, Yemen and Sudan governments fell into the hands of islamists under Bush? Well, the radical left has an interesting way of re-writing history, even the current events.
did I claim that egypt, yemen, and suden fell under bush?
well, the radical right has an interesting way of re-writing my posts. :)
but if you can show me how obama is responsible for the changes in those countries, i'd be curious. :) You do understand that not everything that happens around the world is caused by the president, dont you? well, maybe you don't. :)
I am a democrat, but not a blind radical leftist ideolog. Your post clearly alluded to those "blunders seem like bush". I did not re-write it, I quoted you. As far as responsibility is concerned, yes of course Obama is responsible. I lived under the Shah and witnessed how carter undermined him and welcomed the theocratic ayatolah regime. So exactly did Obama towards Egypt. Yemen and Sudan followed, so did Libya. Now we see Syria is going that direction, by us supporting the "rebels". It does not take an Einstein to see what is developing in ME and Africa, and who is supporting the "change".
Farideh I also knew a woman who had to escape Iran after the Shah was deposed because her own Muslim brethren tried to stone her for refusing the veil. Theocratic governments are Totalitarian in nature and most people understand the danger of this type of governance structure. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican as I see both as two sides of one coin and that they have been systematically destroying the US Constituion. Obama has been the most agressive president in this agenda. I personally think the Justice Party is the only party that has yet to sell out. However, at this point with no third party being a ballot option in all US states I look at each third part represenative. Historically a significant percentage of third party votes has had an effect on the direction that Congress has taken. I refer to Bull Moose party which unseated the Republicans with 25 percent of the vote.
Historically speaking the Democrats as a whole did not take money from special interests or Corporations like the Republicans did but that is no longer the case and as such they are just as owned by powerful interests as the Republicans are. For instance Obama care was nothing more than putting the burden of the poor health care on the middle class when it use to be put on the government and private institutions like hospitals. As the the taxes have not been reduced to reflect the redirection of expense I can not see how forcing the middle class to pay for overpriced health insurance as a benefit to the majority of Americans. Now the cost is being put on the struggling middle class. The government can pay low fees for treatments for the poor while forcing the middle class to pay high premiums to make up the difference. The premiums are high and the care is substandard. I know for I have seen it first hand. Meanwhile the pharma companies hospitals health insurance companies and other health care industries rake in record breaking profits.
Ignore Vermont he is not worth the time.
farideh, obviously you know what you are talking about, but sadly there are some far-out leftist who are a living proof that the dumbest people on Earth are the ideologue who are so blinded by their faith that they can't see past the end of their noses, if they can see at all!
The fact is that Obama's leftist cheerleaders in the MSM were applauding the way he handled the Arab Spring and contrasting it with George Bush's policies, now they are claiming that Obama has nothing to do with the mess he created in the Middle East!
Well it's nice to see all the usual right wing nut job cry babies are out in force. Led by the totally clueless KING PUTT.
"Life is tough, it's even tougher when you're stupid" John Wayne
Hey Mike: "F..k you" Tennessee Williams
Tunisia, Libya and Egypt need to merge as one country ASAP. An economy in free fall and lack of social equality started the Arab Spring everywhere. Combining the strengths of all three nations into one common nation and market would do wonders to revive growth. The larger the country, the more minorities to be protected under law in a united constitution.
Checks and balances with methods like equal representation of say 2 members each in an upper house of government based upon current governorates (Tunisia 24, Libya 22, Egypt 27) would counter Egyptian population advantage.
Move the capital to a neutral city such as Bayda Libya.
With one huge common market, Libyan oil revenues, relatively large Tunisian educated middle class and large Egyptian economic base the combined country could rapidly advance. The vast majority of people who are not engaged politically because they see no solution economically might well indeed create the type of government and economy all three countries need.
The light at the end of the tunnel needs to be economic and social much more than political. The politics will then take care of themselves.
As for the entire Muslim world, much of the current problems are the remnants of borders created by foreign powers years ago. The other problem is vast meddling and the money to back it up by religious conservatives in Saudi Arabia.
Redrawing national borders along ethnic lines would do wonders for the region. Either merging countries or splitting them apart.
Afghanistan for example should be split along the Hindu Kush mountain range into a North/Northeast country and a South/South East country of the Pashtuns. This southern country should also then have the Northwest Frontier states of Pakistan.
The Northern section might merge with Tajikistan but it is not a requirement.
Libya, Tunisia and Egypt should merge. (Although Egypt should transfer sovereignty of the Sinai to Jordan.
Jordan and the Palestinian Territories (plus the Sinai) should re-unite as before 1967. Letting those two entities split was the single biggest political blunder of the Arab, Israeli and UN.
Shia Iraq and East Baghdad should be Iraq. Sunni Iraq, Kurdish Iraq and West Baghdad, Syria and Lebanon should really consider being Greater Syria. (Adding Jordan/Palestine would be the final touch). Until 1917 this was pretty much the plan of Arabs in the region. UK and French meddling along with Turkish input pretty much split them into the mess that it is today.
Just as large corporations merge, spin off and restructure all the time, the idea that current borders world wide are to be fixed for all time is just crazy.
Many countries of the world are economic basket cases because they are not large enough to support a thriving internal and exporting market. This leads to ongoing political strife as people fight over the small economic pie that is present. The main method for such fights is to label minorities within such countries as the main culprit for economic stagnation.
Hey Jonathan Yeah I noticed the new term secularist being bandied in the media. Secularist in western society is very different than secularist in Muslim countries.