A Night In Tunisia: Al Kasba’s lesson

Al Kasbah - Picture by Sami Ben Gharbia


Tunisian officials must be scratching their heads at the moment.
After decades of a sluggish political apathy, the country has witnessed a
couple of governments in a few weeks.
Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannoushi’s resignation is edifying. Foremost
among the lessons learned is that public pressure and private suasion
eventually pay off.
Any head of government who will come will no longer need opinion
polls. He will just have to peek through his office window at Al Kasba
Square to check his popularity.
Love it or hate it – and there are plenty of people on either side -,
Tunisians are discovering freedom. Over decades, they had been
fossilized and smothered by fear.
Now, the die is cast and Tunisians will hold their breaths till next
July, when they will elect an assembly to write a new constitution.