The leader of Tunisia’s Ennahdha movement is on his way to becoming one of Tunisia’s worst memories ever.
Changes within and outside Ennahdha indicate henceforth that Rached Ghannouchi is a man of the past, overtaken by events and days. At whatever time he said something new, he causes Tunisian to remember what they want to omit.
His criticisms of the reform measures proceeded by President Kais Saied and the few hundreds who are taking his side, don’t constitute heretofore a stumbling block, not even a stumbling block in the way of rebuilding democracy in Tunisia.
But if Tunisians want to put a name to the Ghannouchi’s legacy in their country, what can they remember but failure?
Over the past 10 years, Tunisia has known 12 governments, which preceded the Najla Bouden’s government, which was formed last October by President Kais Saied. The average age of a government was only 10 months; this was conclusive evidence that the country was experiencing a state of political chaos that had affected in the country’s economic conditions.
The first post-change government that Ghannouchi took over on January 17, 2011, didn’t hold up more than ten days. His second government, which took office on January 27, 2011, didn’t last more than 39 days old after a number of ministers resigned, forcing Ghannouchi not to repeat the line.
It all comes together to be an early indication that chaos would be the path, which it’s already what happened.
Ennahdha movement has been the dominant force along the path of disorder that has beset the country. The government fell one after another, and government formation turned into one of the worst models of bargaining, buying consciences, and nurturing vested interests.
Parliament served only as a market, in the name of democracy, for buying and selling alliances, parliamentarians, and ministers, in order to enable Ennahdha to infiltrate civilian state institutions.
The country’s economy paid the highest price, becoming too aggravated, through the failure of the corruption and political Islam coalition that dominated the Hichem Mechichi’s government.
Tunisia had always a pride in its middle class, which was the largest, amounting to around 70% of the population. 10 years after, the Tunisian middle class receded, shrinking from more than 70% of the population in 2010 to less than 40%.
It is a stark indication of a social and economic disaster that shakes stability, even if it does not shake the consciences of Ennahdha leaders. In the vicinity of this collapse, unemployment has risen to 21.9%, youth unemployment stands at 40%, and more than 274,000 new unemployed were added last year. Poverty has increased to 20% of the population.
According to a report prepared in collaboration with the National Institute of Statistics and the World Bank of subdivisions of Tunisia such as -Hassi El Ferid, Jedilan, and Ayoun- have all recorded poverty rates that exceed 50%. While coastal areas were thought to be less vulnerable to poverty, subdivisions such as Chorbane from Mahdia governorate and Sajnan from Bizerte were recorded poverty rates of 39.9%.
While Tunisia had an annual growth rate of more than 5% before 2011, growth rates have been declining until it recorded a contraction of 7% last year and a small growth of only 0.3% this year. Household consumption fell by 8%. According to Ministry of Education statistics, 100,000 students have not enrolled in schools. The Tunisian National Institute of Statistics said that 37% of private companies face the risk of permanent closure. As stated by the World Economic Outlook for October 2020, the International Monetary Fund projected inflation at 5.4% and a deficit at 8.3%. However, the result was worse this year – an inflationary rate of more than 6%. Instead of estimating that the budget deficit will be $2.4 billion, the real deficit reached $3.4 billion. With a small growth rate, the country’s debt-servicing capacity is shrinking to dangerous levels.
This is the Ghannouchi’s legacy. It is an incontrovertible expression of the fact that Ennahdha’s dominance of parliament and successive governments has thrust Tunisia to the brink.
According to Ennahdha’s ideological premises, the country’s fall into the abyss would have meant nothing to it. However, the failure is yet failure, and it is 11.8 million Tunisians who are paying the price. Unless abstract numbers and facts reveal the nature of those behind the failure, the debate about the role of parliament will be nothing more than empty arguments intended to cover up.
Ghannouchi did his part by pushing Tunisia to where it is now. If he had a living conscience, he should have stopped and done what he left instead of reminding Tunisians that he still wanted to repeat what he did.
