Tunisia's new Islamist-leftist coalition government is well placed to achieve stability in the country, writes Lassaad Ben Ahmed from Tunis Nearly a month after the country's first free and democratic elections, the contours of the new political map of Tunisia are becoming clearer. This follows intense discussions among the winning parties on which party would have which responsibilities in the interim period that will end with the drafting of the country's new constitution and parliamentary and presidential elections in a year's time. As a result of the discussions, Hamadi Jebali, secretary-general of the Islamist Al-Nahda Party, which gained 89 of the 217 seats in the country's constituent assembly, will become the new Tunisian prime minister, while Moncef Marzouki, head of the Congress for the Republic Party, which gained 29 seats, will become president and Mustafa Bin Jaafar, head of the Takattol Party, which won 20 seats, becomes speaker of the assembly. The new government is thus made up of a coalition between the country's Islamists and moderate Left, the Congress for the Republic being a secularist and human rights-based social-justice movement, and the Takattol being a modernising and middle-class party stressing the country's Arab-Muslim identity. Analysts say that the coalition will guarantee stability and legitimacy during the transitional period and will serve the interests of the country. Of the other political formations, most noteworthy is the exclusion of the Arida, or Popular Petition, Party, despite its gaining 26 seats in the assembly. The Party is led by businessman Hashemi Hamdi, owner of the Mustaqilla television channel, who was known for his links to ousted former Tunisian president Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali. Observers say that in drawing up lists of candidates, Hamdi drew on the old lists of the former Tunisian ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally. The Progressive Democratic Party, unexpectedly defeated in the elections and gaining only 16 seats, has chosen to remain outside the government rather than to accept the invitation of the coalition parties to join them. The parties that won the most seats in October's elections were those that had most opposed Bin Ali's rule since he seized power in 1987 in a palace coup conducted against the former president Habib Bourguiba. Led by Naguib Al-Shabi, the Progressive Democratic Party made a strategic mistake when it agreed to be part of the so-called salvation government headed by Mohamed Al-Ghanouchi following Bin Ali's flight in January, and its defence of the presidential system and attempt to patch up a new constitution when the people were demanding a complete break with the past did not endear it with voters either. As the discussions between the parties continued earlier this month, Tunisia was fired up with analysis, observation and dialogue. Issues such as the country's secularist heritage were discussed, along with the Islamists' desire to establish a "sixth caliphate" in the country, both issues very far from the immediate catalysts for the Revolution. Criticism of the elections focused on the proportional electoral system used, which may have denied women, holding 57 seats in the new assembly, and Al-Nahda their due. While there was an equal number of male and female candidates standing in the elections, the results did not reflect this since 93 of the heads of the lists were men. Analysts have defended the electoral system used in the elections, saying that it was the only way of guaranteeing pluralism. If a proportional system had not been used, Al-Nahda would have won all 217 seats in the assembly, except for that of the town of Sidi Bouzeid -- the original stronghold of the revolution -- thus forming a one-party political system. The Tunisian elections have led to the opening up of the country's political scene. However, with some 24 per cent of Tunisians living in poverty and inflation reaching three per cent over recent months with unemployment rising, the new government will need to address the country's economic problems as a matter of priority. There are expected to be one million people unemployed in Tunisia before the end of the year, out of a total population of some 10 million. If economic conditions continue to deteriorate, this may lead to another explosion of the type that earlier removed former president Bin Ali.
