The reactions of political parties and figures in Tunisia continued after the President of the Republic, Qais Saeed, on Saturday evening, entrusted the Minister of the Interior, in the caretaker government, Hisham El Mechishi, to form a new government, in a mission that he must accomplish in light of a tense political climate.
And between support, reservation and objection, the reactions differed, pending the start of political consultations, whose deadlines expire after one month to form the new government.
El-Mishishi, 46, succeeds this position, Prime Minister Elias El-Fakhfakh, who resigned earlier this month.
Responses and contrast
In political reactions, the head of the Tunisian Heart Bloc in Parliament, Osama Al-Khulaifi, confirmed, via a Facebook post, that his party had no reservations about the prime minister-designate, even though he came out of the course of political consultations, as he described.
In turn, the head of the National Reform Bloc in Parliament Hassouna al-Nasifi described the selection of the Tunisian president as a conciliator, and considered that Al-Mishishi is an independent figure with the ingredients for success.
The Secretary-General of the People's Movement, Zuhair al-Maghzawi, and the leader of the Tahia Tunis Party, Walid El-Gallad, expressed their welcome to Hicham El-Mechishi’s assignment, and the willingness of their parties to interact positively with him during the consultations.
In a statement to her, the People's Movement said that it expresses its satisfaction with entrusting the Mishishi to form the next government, stressing that it is ready to engage positively with the consultations to be launched during the coming days, while stressing that the condition for the success and success of these consultations is the commitment of all parties, foremost of which is the prime minister in charge of the set of criteria .
For his part, the Democratic Movement congratulated Hisham El-Mishishi on his assignment, hoping that he would work within the framework of the constitution and the democratic system to achieve the objective conditions that allow the government to work seriously away from the narrow interests of any party and the concessions resulting from the intimidation not to vote for it or to drop it later.
And the current indicated that he will determine his official position on voting for or against his government based on what results in his meeting with the Mishishi.
On the other hand, the head of the "Dignity Coalition", Saif Al-Din Makhlouf, criticized the assignment of Mishishi, describing him as a transcendent on the political class.
It is expected that Al-Nahda will disclose its position to the Prime Minister-designate after its Executive Office meeting this evening.
According to several observers, Al-Nahda will not risk conservatively the president’s decision.
Multiple challenges
Political analyst and journalist writer Mohamed Al-Yousifi believes that Al-Mishishi faces a number of economic and social challenges, in addition to the cracks in the political arena.
He indicated that the Mishishi, who has a legal background, will seek to succeed in testing the confidence of Parliament, while the confidence of the citizen will only be achieved by fulfilling his demands.
Al-Mishishi is the Minister of the Interior in the caretaker government, and he also served as Senior Adviser to President Saeed on Legal Affairs.
Al-Mishishi was also head of the Bureau in the Ministries of Transport, Social Affairs, and Health.
He now has a month to form a government in an atmosphere of political tensions between the main parties. He will then have to gain the confidence of Parliament in an absolute majority, and if he fails to do so, Parliament will be dissolved and new elections organized within three months.