Tunisia -
In an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera Net in front of the Tunisian elections scheduled for next month, the Secretary-General of the Tunisian Workers' Party, Hamma Hammami, spoke about the "coming reforms", which the governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia described as "painful".
He also talked about his assessment of the Labor Union's position on the July 25, 2021 path (the start of President Kais Saied's exceptional procedures), and he enumerated the most prominent mistakes of the Tunisian left during the last decade, and he also talked about what he described as the "ideological affiliation" of President Saied.
You have reservations about Tunisia's agreement with the International Monetary Fund, and you describe the agreement document as "secret", why?
What is the relationship of the content of the document to the difficult reforms that the central bank governor recently talked about?
First: It is better for countries that want to preserve their sovereignty and independence not to resort to such funds because they contribute to shackling them, and I challenge anyone who gives me an example or one experience with the International Monetary Fund that has led to what is good for this country or that, but on the contrary it always leads to deepening Social crises and explosions.
Second: Qais Saeed and his government entered into negotiations and are talking about an agreement with the International Monetary Fund without disclosing this agreement, and they hide its content because it is popularly rejected, but we know the basic lines that they describe as reforms or painful measures;
The most important of which is the lifting of subsidies and the privatization of public institutions and the priority in them for foreign capital, which will turn the Tunisian state into a mere police state that collects collection only.
Moreover, the fund's loan is very small and will not be directed to investment, according to experts.
Many describe the opposition today as "weak", so what is your response?
And why did your movements not bear fruit in stopping Saeed’s path, which you describe as a “coup”?
These are relative matters.
It is true that the opposition today is not able to bring millions into the streets, but politics is not seen in this way.
It must be accumulated.
We have popular groups and classes whose consciousness must move from one case to another. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali did not fall overnight, but rather after several accumulations.
It is true that the Tunisian people suffered from Ben Ali and those who ruled in the past decade, but Saeed did not come up with a solution, but rather took advantage of the situation to replace him with an absolute individual rule headed by a deified person, while continuing the same economic choices.
However, the popular situation today has changed from what it was after July 25, 2021, as discontent began to increase, and the true face of Qais Saeed began to appear through suppressing popular movements and restricting freedoms.
Al-Hammami: Qais Saeed and his government kept the agreement with the International Monetary Fund secret because it is popularly rejected (Getty Images)
From the point of view of Hamma Al-Hamami, what are the mistakes of the left during the decade after the revolution?
As for the "revolutionary" left, to which I belong - especially the Popular Front - its positions were characterized by much hesitation and ambiguity, and we in the Labor Party made several mistakes.
We did not present the people with an integrated and clear program, and we had to take advantage of the situation in order to unite more with the workers and toilers.
The front almost turned into a mere parliamentary opposition, and we also had to organize our ranks more.
I say this because I see that the front has actually ended since 2016, not 2018, when the dispute over the government of Youssef Chahed took place and to this day it still exists. There are those who swayed behind Qais Saeed, even though he dealt them one slap after another, and he wants to liquidate all the democratic gains that the revolution brought. .
If you don't want the "renaissance" then look for a worse alternative.
Tunisian opposition politician Hamma Al-Hamami calls on the Labor Union to take a clear position on the upcoming elections (Al-Jazeera)
If the Tunisian left has been unable for years to convince the voter and rise to power, especially in fair elections and in the era of democracy, will it succeed in a stage you described as "the time of dictatorship"?
In fact, the elections in Tunisia allowed everyone to run and campaign, but the electoral climate is what determines the results.
The factor that controlled the elections was corrupt money.
They are not fair, especially the 2019 elections, which were the worst ever.
And the entire elections are corrupt, and perhaps the best of them is relatively the 2014 elections, which witnessed the monitoring of the balance of power for each other, and Qais Saeed did not go up with a cup of coffee as he promotes.
What is your assessment of the Labor Union's position on the July 25 path?
The position of the Tunisian General Labor Union is a critical one, and it can only be critical;
Because lifting subsidies, freezing wages, and privatizing public institutions struck the social base of the Union;
Its basic union base is found in public establishments.
Politically, we hope that the union's position will be clear regarding the upcoming elections, because we will be facing a council of "pawns" that the president will manipulate.
With the absence of political figures in the elections, how do you see the features of the next parliament?
It will just be a "circus".
It is enough to look at some of the samples that we have begun to see appearing in the media, which foreshadow a miserable populist scene without programs or competition.
The president himself, when he came to power, declared that he had no program and no promises.
This parliament will not have legislative power, nor oversight power over the president, nor over the government.
So this council is an attempt by the president to pass his project, and therefore it will not have weight in political life, and the power will remain entirely in the hands of a “divine” person.
Qais Saeed previously spoke of breaking with any ideological affiliation, but Hamma Hammami likened his policies to the "guardianship of the jurist" (Tunisian press)
In an interview with Al-Jazeera Net during his election campaign, Saeed said that his program would cut off all ideological affiliation of any kind.
What do you think of this statement?
Is Saeed considered "ideologically" independent today?
Qais Saeed is populist, and populism is one of the most dangerous ideologies;
Because it is hostile to freedoms, democracy, and elites, and as one of the commentators said: We are facing a man who cannot be classified, and he is inspired by his view of the relationship between the ruler and the ruled from God’s relationship with people that does not need a mediator for man to communicate with his Creator.
With this simple idea, Said rooted his view of governance and understanding of the state, a view based on the idea that the president does not need intermediary bodies such as the media, civil society, political parties, and the educated class.
From a political ideological point of view, Qais Saeed is close to the idea of "guardianship of the jurist", and as Sadiq Belaid said, we will have a president above institutions;
Which means that he is a "divine" person who is not governed by institutions, as he is closer to the idea of a guide or a sultan, and he removed Tunisia from the lexicon of the Republic.
Said's populism is a mixture of religion, nationalism, and liberalism;
He sells words to whoever he wants, and he did not create this feature, but rather it exists in the world. The best example of this is Donald Trump in America, and the five stars in Italy, and they are at the service of money owners and wealthy families, as well as the colonial powers.
Did Ben Ali or Bourguiba dare to say about French colonialism, for example, protection?
If the Labor Party comes to power one day, what are the most important real reforms that it can carry out?
We must first take "rescue measures", such as securing sectors of sovereignty such as energy and water resources, agricultural reform, reforming the banking system, and suspending indebtedness;
Argentina - for example - suspended the debt in 2002, and its growth rate increased by two digits.
We will work to integrate the parallel economy into the formally regulated economy.
We have at least 50% of the parallel economy;
It means about half of the gross national product, and its owners do not pay taxes, do not pay social funds, and live by speculation.
Moreover, the Tunisian state must recover its money from abroad, which amounts to 12 thousand billion dinars ($4 billion), which is more than the loan that Saeed will take from the IMF.
All the heads of the major parties in Tunisia talk about their bet on the youth, but none of them entrusted the leadership of the party to the young talents.
Isn't it time?
The Secretary General of the party is not a head of state, nor a minister, and these matters are related to the internal life of the parties, and we will remain with the will of the activists and the elections.
He does not blame - for example - German Prime Minister Merkel, who remained in power for 16 years, or US President Joe Biden (he is 80 years old).
The issue is political and not a "youth issue" as the bourgeoisie promotes and does not implement.
Moreover, democracy is not a formality, and the Secretary-General of the Labor Party is a moral figure who has no decision-making or executive authority, and we mix between generations.