The interest with which Tunisians followed the events that led to the ouster of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi could not have been greater had the Muslim Brotherhood leader been in power in Tunisia. However, reactions were mixed. While some Tunisians were delirious with joy at the sight of Political Islam being rolled back in Egypt, others reiterated their support for the previous government's “legitimacy”. Meanwhile, Tunisia's own coalition troika government seems to be securely in office, even as the country's own version of the Egyptian Tamarod movement has started collecting signatures across the country in a call to disband Tunisia's constituent assembly and all the institutions it has spawned, including the presidency and the premiership. By the end of last week, the Tunisian version of Tamarod had collected some 200,000 signatures. The movement's organisers, mostly young people who have the support of rights activists and public figures, have come under verbal and physical attacks in various locations, including in the cities of Bizerte and Kabes. The Tunisian Tamarod sprang into being in June, spearheading demands for a constitution that would represent all Tunisians. The movement's coordinator, Mohamed Bennour, described the draft constitution currently under discussion at the Tunisian constituent assembly as being “exclusionist”. The spectacular and speedy success of the movement's namesake in Egypt has added momentum to the Tunisian movement's efforts to rally those who reject the policies of Tunisia's Islamist Al-Nahda Movement. The latter group has been accused by senior opposition members such as Hamma Hammami from the Popular Front and Samir Bettaieb from the Democratic bloc, of trying to turn Tunisia into a religious state. Al-Nahda maintains that the draft constitution guarantees the secularity of the state, as well as the Arab and Islamic identity of the country. The ouster of Morsi coincided with the start of public sessions in Tunisia to discuss the new draft constitution, and it also took place during a visit to Tunisia by French President François Hollande. Arriving in Tunisia with a delegation of government officials and businessmen, the French president voiced his opposition to the “interference of the army in politics”. His remarks dampened the growing opposition among the Tunisian elite to the Islamists. Addressing the country's constituent assembly on Friday, Hollande said that the army intervention in Egypt had interrupted the course of the democratic transition in Egypt, and he urged the resumption of democratic rule as soon as possible. Hollande also said that Tunisia had no choice but to go through a transitional period, voicing the hope that elections would be held at the earliest opportunity. His remarks gave heart to the country's Islamists, while they undermined those who wish to challenge the constituent assembly and other government institutions. They were also in line with official Tunisian statements on Egypt. Tunisia's interim President Moncef Marzouki and Prime Minister Ali Larayedh, as well as Al-Nahda leader Rached Ghannouchi, all voiced their support for Egypt's deposed former president, saying that Tunisia's Tamorod was not a credible political movement. Al-Nahda organised a march in support of Mohamed Morsi last Sunday in front of the Egyptian embassy in Tunis. However, the march was called off at the last moment due to the lack of permission from the Ministry of the Interior, Al-Nahda spokesmen said. The dozens of pro-Morsi demonstrators who managed to gather in front of the Egyptian embassy dispersed without delay at the order of the security forces. This did not stop opposition figures and analysts from pointing out that the events in Egypt had damaged the position of the Islamists more generally. Several politicians, including Hussein Abbasi, secretary-general of the Tunisian General Labour Federation, called on the Islamists to learn from what had happened in Egypt. Beji Caid Essebsi, the leader of the Tunisia Call Party, used the events in Egypt as an opportunity to demand the disbanding of the constituent assembly, which, he claimed, had failed to draft the new constitution within the one year deadline that ended on 23 October 2012. Essebsi also warned against Al-Nahda attempts to exclude former politicians from the scene through the passage of a special law called the immunity of the revolution law. Other analysts voiced concerns over the growing influence of foreign powers in the region. One week before the recent events in Cairo, Rachid Omar, the Tunisian army chief of staff, resigned from his post, saying that he had reached retirement age. However, his resignation raised eyebrows in Tunisia, with many wondering if there were not hidden reasons for the move. Some analysts have also been concerned at the assertive role that France is now playing in North Africa, a role that is at odds with the spirit of the Arab Spring. Will Tunisia's Tamarod manage to pull off the kind of spectacular success that its namesake achieved in Egypt? For now, this seems unlikely.
