海角大神

As Tunisia's Ennahda falters, supporters wonder if it can handle the heat

Tunisia's leading party, the Islamist Ennahda, is struggling to deliver prosperity and stability.  Even some supporters who flocked to the party after the revolution are questioning its performance 鈥� and what it should do next.

Before revolution toppled Tunisia鈥檚 dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Ghada Mtiri鈥檚 head scarf could get her into trouble with the police. Afterward, she campaigned for one of his chief victims, the moderate Islamist Ennahda (Al Nahda) party.

For her, Ennahda has stood听for democracy, respect for religion, and the idea that 鈥渘o one person can oppress another,鈥� she says.

Now the party is under fire for what critics call a dismal听leadership听record. The murder last week of an opposition听political听leader听ignited a smoldering crisis听over how to replace a discredited cabinet 鈥� and听how to get the original Arab Spring country back on track.

Tunisia has moved steadily toward democracy since Mr. Ben Ali鈥檚 departure in January 2011. But last week鈥檚 killing unleashed anger over what many call the government鈥檚 failure to ensure security and prosperity.

Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, from Ennahda, has announced a plan for a new cabinet of technocrats, and is asking for the backing of both the parties in government and those in the opposition. If he does not get enough parties to support his proposal, he says he will step down.

For Mtiri and other young Tunisians who rallied听to Ennahda's banner,听the听crisis is an听opportunity to听reflect on the听progress, setbacks, and lessons听of the past two years.

鈥淭his phase is not for a single party,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his phase is for leaving aside the question of identity and building institutions.鈥�

An end to persecution

Mtiri is a young woman with an easy smile from Sidi Hassine, a working-class district of the capital. In 2009, while studying at the Ecole National d鈥橧ng茅nieurs de Tunis, she began wearing an Islamic head scarf.

It was a risky move. Ben Ali鈥檚 regime forbade the head scarf in state institutions and harassed women who wore it. Soon enough, Mtiri was stopped by police near her engineering school.

鈥淲hat are you doing here?鈥� a policeman asked. Mtiri replied that she was a student.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e cultured, then,鈥� said the听policeman. Then he indicated her head scarf.听鈥淲hy do you wear that thing?鈥�

鈥淏ecause I believe in it,鈥� Mtiri said.

Two years later, Ben Ali was toppled by a wave of protests. Overnight, political parties 鈥� some already existing, many new 鈥撎齜egan readying to compete in Tunisia鈥檚 first free elections.

Mtiri had already heard of Ennahda. After Ben Ali鈥檚 departure,听the party鈥檚 pledge to work with secularists while promoting an Arab-Muslim identity won her support.

鈥淚 will no longer accept being rejected because I wear a head scarf in my own country, or being told my ideas are backward,鈥� she says.

An experiment in coexistence

In 2011, Mtiri campaigned door-to-door for Ennahda in Sidi Hassine with other young activists. Among them were Mohamed Salah Chebbi, then studying audiovisual technology, and Abdelhamid Hamadi, who headed the youth section of Ennahda's local office.

Ennahda won the October 2011 elections听and formed听a coalition government with two secularist parties that has听been seen听as an experiment in powersharing.

鈥淭he message is that two societal projects can coexist,鈥� says Mr. Chebbi, a jovial young man with curly chestnut hair. 鈥淚f that experiment succeeds, the Tunisian revolution will succeed.鈥�

But today, many in Tunisia now question that government鈥檚 ability to run the country. Concerns have shifted lately from ideology to sheer competence.

Opposition parties accuse the government of failing to discipline violent groups, from hard-line Salafi Muslims to听rowdy progovernment demonstrators called the Leagues for the Protection of the Revolution.

Ordinary Tunisians complain of a malaise that has deepened since Ben Ali鈥檚听removal. Uncertainty has frightened investors and tourists.听Unemployment shot to 19 percent in 2011 and remains at around 17 percent听鈥� with youth and rural regions hit even harder.

Meanwhile, Ennahda's coalition partners, the Congr猫s pour la R茅publique (CPR) and Ettakatol parties, have accused it of hoarding power. Ennahda has resisted their demand since last summer that it relinquish key ministries.

No going back

Frustrations boiled over on Feb. 6, after an unknown assailant shot and killed Chokri Belaid, an opposition party leader, as he left his house. Thousands hit the streets in protest, and even more attended Mr. Belaid鈥檚 funeral on Feb. 8. Some blamed the government for his death, and many called for its removal.

Now, parties are debating the way forward. Some opposition parties, plus Ettakatol, support Prime Minister Jebali鈥檚 proposal. But CPR, as well as his own party, Ennahda, reject it,听signaling splits both within Ennahda and the coalition it leads.

For activists like Mtiri, Chebbi, and Mr. Hamadi, the future of a cause that won their devotion is now in question.

鈥淚鈥檓 optimistic,鈥� says Hamadi,听a soft-spoken young man听who served as a campaign organizer in Sidi Hassine. 鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible for us to go backward.鈥�

Like Mtiri and Chebbi, he argues that Ennahda and its partners听should govern because they won elections and 鈥� thanks to a history of persecution by Ben Ali 鈥� embody the struggle to bring down his regime.

All three young activists want the government to push through controversial听legislation听that would bar thousands of regime figures and members of Ben Ali鈥檚 party, the now-banned Rassemblement听Constitutionnel D茅mocratique听(RCD), from politics.

Worry that a Ben Ali-like mentality may linger听among some Tunisians听is听part of what gives Chebbi pause.

鈥淥n one hand, we鈥檙e at an impasse, and Jebali鈥檚 proposal for a technocrat government could be a solution,鈥� he says. 鈥淥n the other, technocrats might have had a history with the RCD.鈥�

Both government and opposition parties agree that the current cabinet must go. The fortunes of Ennahda and the coalition it has led are murkier. Whatever happens, says Mtiri, they should at least have learned a lesson.

鈥淭hat internal conflict brings catastrophic results for our revolution,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey must work together to respond to the demands of the people.鈥�