海角大神

The mother led her daughter by the hand to the back of the mausoleum, beyond the sarcophagus, to point out photographs of the mausoleum's occupant meeting other dead dictators.听

鈥淪ee? That鈥檚 Nasser, and Saddam Hussein, and that鈥檚 Hafez al-Assad,鈥� she said. 鈥淒o you know who he was?鈥� Silence. 鈥淗e was president of Syria,鈥� the mother continued. 鈥淵ou need to know history.鈥�

A recent visit to the tomb of Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia鈥檚 first president, was a chance for听Fatima Trabelsi to teach her daughter Tawba about 鈥渢he greatest Arab leader,鈥� she says.

In reality, Bourguiba鈥檚 record is mixed. Although he modernized Tunisia, he also jailed and tortured his critics.听

But these days many Tunisians, rattled by post-revolution instability, like to remember him as a fatherly figure who brought education, development, women鈥檚 rights, and a sense of direction.听听

That nostalgia could influence how Tunisians vote in elections later this year. It also raises a crucial question about democratic transition: whether the instinct to trust in charismatic leaders will be replaced by trust in democracy itself.

Unemployment is up, investment is down, and fear of violence by Islamic extremists is growing. Many Tunisians say surer hands are needed at the tiller. They听are delighted to be rid of Bourguiba鈥檚 successor, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was toppled in 2011. But according to a February poll by the International Republican Institute,听only 52 percent prefer a democracy, even if unstable, while 42 percent want a stable dictatorship.

Promised democracy, practiced dictatorship

Stable dictatorship is what Bourguiba offered, despite a promising start as a democratic voice.

He was born in 1903 in听the coastal city of听Monastir and was educated in France. Back home he joined the Destour party, which wanted a constitution to secure Tunisians鈥� rights under French rule. He formed a bolder splinter group, the Neo-Destour, and negotiated independence听from France听in 1956.

That involved ruthlessly sidelining a former ally, Salah Ben Youssef. Bourguiba became president; Ben Youssef was shot dead in a Frankfurt hotel in 1961. His murder remains unsolved, but his overall fate set a听precedent. Bourguiba听enforced a secularist order and stayed in power by crushing opponents. In 1987, old and ailing, he was removed by his prime minister, Mr. Ben Ali.

Ben Ali ran a police state and let development lag while his family enriched themselves through corruption.

After Ben Ali鈥檚 departure, the long-persecuted Islamists of the Ennahda party won October 2011 elections on a platform of democracy and a return to what they call Tunisia鈥檚 Arab-Muslim heritage. Ennahda now heads a coalition government.

Backlash听

Not all Tunisians like Ennahda鈥檚 approach. Three months after the party鈥檚 victory, thousands stood in a Monastir stadium, cheering a different brand of leader.听鈥淥h Beji! Oh Beji!鈥� they chanted as Beji Caid Essebsi took the podium.听

Mr. Essebsi, an advisor to Bourguiba who also held several ministerial posts under him,听steered Tunisia through a bumpy period in 2011 as head of a caretaker government.

Watching him听in the stadium, economist Mahmoud Ben Romdhane recalled crowds cheering Bourguiba and urged Essebsi to re-enter politics. Last summer Essebsi founded the Nidaa Tounes party; Mr. Ben Romdhane is on its executive council.

The party鈥檚 rivals call it a haven for听unreformed听members of past regimes. That criticism is unfair, says Ben Romdhane, who describes Nidaa Tounes as a big tent. His own example is a case in point.

As a union leader and senior member of Amnesty International, Ben Romdhane opposed both Bourguiba and Ben Ali听for their autocratic rule. But he听admires the former鈥檚听vision.

鈥淏ourguiba had culture, political acumen, and a strategy for Tunisia,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat legacy failed to bring democracy. What we want to do now is make that link.鈥�

Demanding competence听

Mrs. Trabelsi and her husband, Mounir Dellech, run a business manufacturing work uniforms in their home town of Sousse. She says听sales are down and customers are requesting to buy on credit.听

鈥淲e鈥檝e gone from crisis to crisis,鈥� Mr. Dellech says. 鈥淭hese kinds of problems would never have existed under Bourguiba."

On April 6 the family visited Monastir for the commemoration of Bourguiba鈥檚 death in 2000. Mrs. Trabelsi, in dress and headscarf, explored the memorabilia with Tawba. Her husband trailed behind them in a gray-green suit, absently fingering an unlit cigar.

Outside, the wind听was snapping听banners with Bourguiba quotes. 鈥淲ork is the first element of human dignity,鈥� read one. A few vendors gloomily听tried to sell听cotton candy and knick-knacks.

It鈥檚 scenes like this that have some Tunisians looking to Nidaa Tounes. Dellech is one of them. He doesn鈥檛 see evidence of closet autocrats; he does see a record of competence.

鈥淏eji Caid Essebsi is experienced, and we need people with experience,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd not all members of [Bourguiba鈥檚 and Ben Ali鈥檚 now-defunct party] were dishonest. Some kept the country working.鈥�

Nidaa Tounes听narrowly beat Ennahda in a poll last month by EMRHOD, a Tunisian-Algerian research company. But success depends on presenting a clear economic program and 鈥� ultimately 鈥撎齜uilding a party with appeal beyond听the glow that surrounds Essebsi, says Ben Romdhane.听

Nidaa Tounes is opening offices around Tunisia and has links to trade unions and entrepreneurs, he says. It has also formed a coalition with four other opposition parties to counter Ennahda鈥檚 electoral weight.

Those things matter. Increasingly, Tunisians stress that rhetoric comes second to results.

Among them are Wafa Jguirim and Saifddine Benaicha, information technology students in Monastir. They paused outside the mausoleum while Mr. Benaicha bought a Habib Bourguiba car air freshener.

Both see promise in Nidaa Tounes. 鈥淏ut every party needs to be scrutinized,鈥� says Ms. Jguirim. 鈥淚 think since the revolution, Tunisians have understood that.鈥�