Marzouki: Tunisia at a 'turning point'

Nearly a year after the start of the Tunisian revolution, the nation now has its first democratically elected leadership.

By Houda Trabelsi for Magharebia in Tunis – 14/12/11

New Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki on Wednesday (December 14th) named Ennahda Secretary-General Hamadi Jebali as prime minister.

The 62-year-old official of the moderate Islamist majority party will have 21 days to present his cabinet to the president. Jebali promised Wednesday to choose a team "in the service of the people".

His comments echo those made by the new president a day earlier. When Marzouki was sworn into office as president, he also vowed to work for "all Tunisians".

"We are all aware that we are experiencing a turning point in the history of Tunisia and Tunisians," Marzouki told a special session of the Constituent Assembly on Tuesday.

He pledged to "spare no effort in on-going consultation with the government, the opposition and civil society representatives, in the defense of the foundations of the republic and the democratic system".

"The government's responsibility is to win people's confidence to embark seriously on the file of the martyrs and the wounded," Marzouki said, adding that the new administration will "expedite reckoning and reconciliation in the context of transitional justice".

He also called on the opposition to "be part of the solution and not part of the problem". The president expressed hope that "all of the Tunisian people will come together, transcend their differences, accept pluralism, hold accountable without revenge and forgive without forgetting".

"The challenges posed in the next phase are, in particular, addressing the problem of unemployment, achieving the goals of the revolution, maintaining stability, accelerating urgent reforms and not rushing structural reforms, as well as creating the largest possible number of jobs without drowning in more debt, encouraging investment without allowing exploitation and protecting the rights of employers and employees," the presidents said.

Towards the end of the address, Marzouki stressed the need to help disadvantaged people without harming others. The president promised to protect women whether they wore the niqab, hijab or went unveiled, adding that he would "maintain security without threatening freedom".

The remarks met mixed reaction from observers, with opposition parliamentarian Samir Tayeb saying it was a "speech on thoughts". He added, "There are no clear future visions; a speech came in the form of signals."

"We, as opposition, will hold him accountable and will hold his government to deeds, not intentions," Tayeb asserted.

Najib Chebbi, of the opposition Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), told Magharebia that it was time for parties to work together.

"It is true we opposed some of the points during discussions of the Constituent Assembly, and we put forward our repudiations in all honesty," Chebbi said. "But now after election of a new president of the country, dialogue must continue with the new government to remove all challenges."

"What happened today is a gain and a good step toward building the new Tunisia, with our electing the first legitimate president," Ennahda MP Sahbi Atik told Magharebia.

On the Tunisian street, the presidential address also received a varied response. Mona Boughanmi said she was pleased at where the country was.

"Marzouki's speech today was reassuring and close to the Tunisian people and that seemed clear from his appearance, as he did not wear an elegant suit with millions and did not put on a tie, but wore Tunisian [attire] and specifically the dress of the Tunisian south, his birthplace," she said.

But Salwa Batayeb had a more cautious outlook. "I found Marzouki's speech more akin to a speech in front of a mosque than a speech of a president 'elect'," she said. "He began with a lengthy, polished sermon and then sealed it with a supplication, and that's what made me wary of the speech with the Ennahda Movement."

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/12/14/feature-01.