Tunisian President Kais Saied said that his country “is not a room for rent or sale, and it will make its way without any external interference,” in statements that seemed directed at Western countries as well as the International Monetary Fund.
The relationship between Tunisia and its Western partners is going through a difficult period against the backdrop of reservations about the current path of power in Tunisia, whether in relation to managing the political file, and also with regard to the economic file in connection with the agreement with the International Monetary Fund. These reservations arouse the resentment of President Saeed, as he considers them interference in the country’s internal affairs, and an attempt to impose a kind of guardianship, which he strongly rejects.
“We want to make our way together without any external interference. Our sovereignty is not an easy word, and Tunisia is not a room for rent or sale,” Saied said in a video clip posted by the Tunisian presidency on Facebook on Monday evening. “We want to forge a new path in history, and whoever thinks he can pave a path for us is delusional,” he added.
And he went on to say, “We want to pave a way away from the mines and explosives that they laid, because civil peace in Tunisia is not measured at a price, and the roads that others paved, or that they believe they paved, are not paved, nor are they originally a path or a path.”
Negotiations between Tunisia and the International Monetary Fund to obtain a loan of about two billion dollars are stalling, in light of a severe economic crisis in the country, exacerbated by the repercussions of the Corona pandemic, and then the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war since February 24, 2022.
The United States and countries in the European Union believe that Tunisia should reach an agreement with the Fund, but President Saeed does not want to proceed with this option in accordance with the demands put forward, including the lifting of subsidies on basic commodities, considering that such a step constitutes a threat to civil peace.
Saeed had previously said that he would not accept “dictates” and indicated that reducing subsidies could lead to unrest, recalling the protests that took place in the country in the eighties of the last century, known as the “bread uprising”.
Political activist Munther Thabet said, “President Saeed’s recent statements are directed at everyone, that is, Western capitals and the International Monetary Fund, and in the president’s estimation, it is time to follow a new path based on achieving independence regardless of foreign funding and imposing sovereignty away from foreign political dictates, especially from the states.” the United States and the European Union.
Thabet added, in statements to The Arab Weekly, “President Saeed has a political understanding and a settled interpretation of the contradictions that separate the European Union and Washington, and he is betting on benefiting from multilateral relations.”
He said, “The Tunisian president considers that the local economy can recover through the growth of exports, tourism, phosphate activity, and remittances from citizens abroad, as well as benefiting from European aid and loans, albeit in limited amounts, and avoiding extortion from the International Monetary Fund and Western capitals.” “The president knows very well that the interest of Western capitals is not in the collapse of the Tunisian situation,” he added.
Said repeats from one occasion to another that “Tunisia has a lot of capabilities, but there are those who emptied the country’s coffers with the aim of striking the state from within.” Observers believe that the self-alternatives remain limited, and that the maximum they achieve is that they help the success of the reform program requested by the International Monetary Fund. But it is not enough on its own.
Observers say that there is a difference between ambitions and the constraints of reality, noting that the agreement with the IMF constitutes a mandatory passage for Tunisia to obtain additional financial support from its traditional partners.
On the other hand, there are those in Tunisia who believe that the country is facing a defining moment, in restoring the sovereignty of its decision that has been lost during the past years, and that it is possible to overcome this crisis without making painful concessions, which may have repercussions on social stability.
The writer and political analyst Murad Allala said, “The current discourse did not break with the electoral discourse that the president presented in the past, and it is a sovereign discourse in its form and content, and discourse in this capacity requires not going to the International Monetary Fund.”
Allala added, in statements to The Arab Weekly, that it seems that the president is not only talking about financial institutions, but also referring to a number of parties and their loyalists at home, and considers that all doors of external interference are unacceptable, and he may mean his political opponents, mainly the supportive Turkish-Qatari axis. And his relationship with political Islam.” Allala considered, “The president is betting on his fans and voters, and this is confirmed by opinion polls and his adherence to that discourse.”
Despite the economic difficulties the country is going through as a result of inflation, and the loss of a number of materials, President Said still enjoys a wide popular base, according to the results of opinion polls.
Observers say that Saeed’s retention of the lead in the Tunisians’ confidence levels is due in large part to the great state of dissatisfaction with the political class that ran the country for the ten years that followed the fall of the late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s regime.
Observers point out that this position was translated into a state of indifference and sometimes apathy towards the campaign of arrests that affected leaders and officials, most of whom belong to the Islamic Ennahda Movement.
Saeed said in the video clip broadcast by the presidency, “The application of judicial rulings and law enforcement to everyone, regardless of their positions, was the focus of his recent interviews,” referring to the reception of Minister of Justice Laila Jaffal and the President of the Temporary Supreme Council for Equitable Judiciary Al-Kashou earlier Monday
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