Mounira Hijlawi - Tunisia
Smiling to the photographers' lenses, the Tunisian Prime Minister Yusuf, the witness, confidently left the house at the entrance to the parliament in the central district of Bardo for a public session to discuss the 2019 budget on Saturday morning.
The witness movement drew a lot of ink among politicians, journalists and activists who differed in its interpretation. Which saw symbolic support for the local product, while criticized by the opposite section and described the populist movement with dimensions contact mainly.
The parliamentary MP of the National Coalition bloc Sabreen Al-Qubantini praised the move saying "Al Jazeera Net" is a tangible movement aimed at stimulating the consumption of the Tunisian product and not just words or position, which he stressed in his speech during the plenary session.
The opinion was supported by its colleague Walid Glad, who considered that what the witness did a communication blow already, but without political backgrounds, he wanted to support the Tunisian industry, and the best proof that the car that he has become the talk of the Tunisian street, he said.
He revealed to Jazira Net that it is a first step will be followed by other steps, including a major advertising campaign to support the Tunisian product within the framework of the government program during the next phase.
Some of the leaders of the social networking platforms focused on the positive aspect of the witness's use of a homemade car, including journalist Mesbah al-Jedi, who was strongly critical of those who described the movement as Shabawi.
A populist movement
On the other hand, others saw their dimensions as purely communicative. Asked about the reasons for the witness to leave the parliament without using the car that he brought, Tunisian MP Naseh Hattab said he "erred in this behavior, which may reflect a tacit recognition that the car is not yet ready for use."
"It is not a blow to its political opponents, because in turn they are encouraged to use the local product," she said in a statement to Al Jazeera Net.
For his part, her colleague coordinator of the appeal of Tunisia, Reda Belhadj, described the movement as a populist process, saying in a media statement that he wanted to turn the discussion on the main issues that concern Tunisians and the country's crisis with the Tunisian General Labor Union and general strikes.
The blogs of some activists on Facebook were ridiculed by what they saw as a contradiction between his focus on the external image and the reality of the local product, which lacked the necessary legislation and procedures to support it.
"Using a symbolically good local car, but most importantly when your site is at the head of the government, you wonder what practical measures it has taken for its factory - especially the performance - and for the benefit of the Tunisian manufacturers in general," wrote political activist Tariq al-Kahlawi.
| Founder of "Wallis" Tunisian young Ziad Qayqa (Al Jazeera - Archive) |
Tax exemption
"If you really want to encourage the two young Tunisian car manufacturers and other manufacturers, you have to add a chapter in the finance law that provides for the exemption of value added for manufactured cars in Tunisia," Habib Whelan told the witness.
The Tunisian brothers, Omar and Ziad, have been able to manufacture and develop the Tunisian car "Wallis Car" for nearly 12 years, the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa.
In her turn, journalist Manal Al-Majri said in a blog post on Facebook that she talked about the high price of the car that the witness took, which is not in keeping with the purchasing power of the ordinary Tunisian citizen, describing the movement as "old communication policy."
Encouraging investment
"The witness wanted to invite businessmen to invest in high added value areas that absorb the labor force to absorb high unemployment in Tunisia," said economist Rida Shakandali.
| Witness in front of Tunisian parliament entrance (Reuters) |
He added to Al-Jazeera Net that the witness encourages citizens to consume the Tunisian product because "external consumption is an increase in the level of trade balance deficit and thus increase the deterioration of the value of the Tunisian dinar and inflation, deepening the economic crisis in the country."
Parts of the Wallis car are being installed in a factory in Tunisia in the style of the chassis, chairs, crystal and wheels except for the engine imported from France. The project may receive the International Monetary Fund's innovation award in January.