The differences in the Heart of Tunisia party, and the resignation of the head of its political office, raised serious questions about the fate of the government and the alliances within the parliament, including the survival of Rashid Ghannouchi in his position as Speaker of Parliament, in light of the relentless moves of the opposition representatives to withdraw confidence from him.

The MP for the Heart of Tunis and the head of its political office, Ayad al-Loumi, announced in a blog his resignation from the party, explaining this by rejecting "the de facto policy that he wants to impose by the corruption lobby inside and outside the party."

Observers suggested that the resignation of al-Loumi would be followed by other resignations, in light of the persistence of the party’s leader, Nabil Karoui, in prison on corruption charges, and attempts to win over his party’s deputies by the opposition, with the aim of striking the belt supporting the government on the one hand and overthrowing the speaker of Parliament.

Leaks and accusations

Previous leaks published by independent deputy in parliament, Rashid El-Khayari - by the deputy in the Democratic Movement and Head of the Democratic Bloc, Mohamed Ammar - revealed what was described as a plot to strike the Heart of Tunisia (Ennahda party's ally and supporter of the government) by blackmailing its village chief and preparing court files to dismantle the party.

The leaks - which Ammar did not deny - included efforts to put pressure on the representatives of the Heart of Tunisia bloc, with the aim of voting on a petition to withdraw confidence from Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, in exchange for Karoui's exit from prison and the empowerment of Samira Shawashy, the deputy in the party, to head the parliament.

There is talk of votes in opposition parties calling for the disintegration of Parliament (Al-Jazeera)

Review alliances

The head of the Heart of Tunisia bloc, Usama Al-Khulaifi, revealed that his party had gone through what he described as a difficult political throb, confirming in media statements that his party had entered "a stage of deep evaluation in its political path and in its alliances, and accordingly it will carry out many reviews."

He stressed that the discussion of the party’s options and its alliances contributed to the emergence of differences in the public, adding that they would be cordoned off in an urgent manner through the dialogue mechanism.

The official spokesman for the Heart of Tunisia Party, Mohamed Sadiq Jabnoun, admitted - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - that there are daily pressures exerted on the deputies of the Heart of Tunisia bloc in Parliament, whose undeclared goal is to fight Ennahda and Prime Minister Hicham El Mechichi.

He stressed that there are voices in opposition parties calling for the disintegration of parliament, and that the Heart of Tunisia party pays the tax of not accepting blackmail and preserving the stability of state institutions, and behind it the democratic experience.

He pointed out that the parties that are pushing to dismantle the heart of Tunisia are driven by an abhorrent ideological thinking and hatred, calling on everyone who wants to oppose Ennahda and the heart of Tunisia to adopt democratic tools away from the logic of blackmail and pressure.

At the end of his speech, Jabnoun expressed his regret at the resignation of the head of the Political Bureau of the Heart of Tunisia, which was rejected by the party, stressing that there are efforts to discourage him and cordon off differences in a friendly manner.

Targeting Ghannouchi, the villager, and the government

Differences in positions and opinions were confirmed by Representative Chraz Chebbi, who announced that 8 deputies from the Heart of Tunis bloc, including herself, were ready to sign a petition to withdraw confidence from Ghannouchi.

In a local media statement, the deputy revealed, "there is a clarification of opinions within the party, about the relationship of Heart of Tunisia to political Islam and the Ennahda movement, mainly." She also acknowledged that the party’s representatives differed among them between those who support the idea of ​​an alliance with Ennahda and those who strongly reject it.

For his part, Ennahda MP Noureddine El-Beheiry did not hide - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - his concern about the differences in the heart of Tunisia, expressing his hope to encircle and overcome it, adding, "We consider the heart of Tunisia to be one of our partners and part of the forces that guarantee political and governmental stability."

In his speech, Al-Buhairi warned against what he described as the attack that, on the face of it, targets Karoui and Ghannouchi, and in its core, the entire democratic experience by anti-revolutionary forces.

The deputy admitted that there were attempts to strike the government by dismantling the parliamentary belt supporting it, stressing Ennahdha's support for the Walker, calling on him to take "bold steps" to secure the normal functioning of state institutions and to close the crisis of ministers' constitutional oath in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.

The leader of Ennahda had called - in a blog post on his Facebook page - of those he described as the national forces to accelerate the building of a "historical bloc" that believes in democracy and pluralism to confront "the advocates of fascism and populism."

Pressure paper

Political analyst Tariq Al-Kahlawi believes that the petition to withdraw confidence from Ghannouchi that many people, including MPs, are waving in the heart of Tunisia will be among the pressure cards that the party will play against Ghannouchi and his party in relation to the Karoui prison file.

In his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, he considered that Ennahda is in an unenviable position due to the direct impact of the cracks and the different views within the Heart of Tunisia party, which is its most prominent partner in parliament and the government belt, and most importantly, according to him, his position changed in relation to the evaluation of Ghannouchi's performance on Parliament head.