• Tunisian President Kais Saied at the swearing-in ceremony of the new government on Monday in Tunis. AP
    Tunisian President Kais Saied at the swearing-in ceremony of the new government on Monday in Tunis. AP
  • Mr Saied shows a scene of what he says were scuffles among politicians in Tunisia’s previous parliament. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via AP
    Mr Saied shows a scene of what he says were scuffles among politicians in Tunisia’s previous parliament. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via AP
  • Mr Saied talks to Prime Minister Najla Bouden during the swearing-in of the new government. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via AP
    Mr Saied talks to Prime Minister Najla Bouden during the swearing-in of the new government. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via AP
  • Najla Bouden takes the oath. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via Reuters
    Najla Bouden takes the oath. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via Reuters
  • The Tunisian Prime Minister announced her new Cabinet, which features a record number of women. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via AP
    The Tunisian Prime Minister announced her new Cabinet, which features a record number of women. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via AP
  • Imed Nemich is the new Defence Minister. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via AP
    Imed Nemich is the new Defence Minister. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via AP
  • Leila Jaffel is new Justice Minister. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via AP
    Leila Jaffel is new Justice Minister. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via AP
  • The ceremony. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via Reuters
    The ceremony. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via Reuters
  • President Kais Saied poses with members of the new government in Tunis. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via Reuters
    President Kais Saied poses with members of the new government in Tunis. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via Reuters
  • Members of Tunisia's new government, with face masks, stand during their swearing-in ceremony in Tunis. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via Reuters
    Members of Tunisia's new government, with face masks, stand during their swearing-in ceremony in Tunis. Photo: Tunisian Presidency via Reuters

Tunisia's new government sworn in


Erin Clare Brown
  • English
  • Arabic

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday swore in a new Cabinet selected by Prime Minister Najla Bouden Romdhane in a ceremony at Carthage Palace after more than two months without a government.

“Today we are witnessing historic moments … and we will all succeed in getting Tunisia out of the deteriorated situation it had reached,” Mr Saeid said in a speech following the ceremony.

“We will save the Tunisian state” from its enemies outside and inside, he added.

Prime Minister Najla Bouden announcing the formation of a new government at Carthage Palace. AFP
Prime Minister Najla Bouden announcing the formation of a new government at Carthage Palace. AFP

Nine women are among the 24 ministers, and will head up ministries including Justice, Finance, Commerce and Industry. Ms Bouden, who was appointed two weeks ago, is the country’s first female prime minister, and the first in the Arab world.

“We need to ensure that citizens regain their confidence in the state,” she said, in a short address before the swearing-in ceremony. “This will only happen once they feel that they are a citizen with full rights. This will only happen through the application of law without any delay or discrimination.”

The new government — composed largely of technocrats drawn from academia and interim appointees Mr Saied installed shortly after he dismissed the previous government on July 25 — will take office at a time of profound crisis for the country.

Economic strain deepened by the Covid-19 pandemic, mismanagement of the health crisis, a dysfunctional parliament and deadlock between the executive and legislative branches of government spurred Mr Saied to invoke emergency measures, which he said would enable him to steer the country back on track. The move enjoyed widespread popular support in its early days.

More than two months later, he has further consolidated power, including issuing a presidential order that essentially sacked the suspended parliament, weakened the role of the prime minister and enabled him to rule by decree. He will now serve as the head of the Cabinet, while Ms Bouden’s role and ability to check the executive has yet to be defined.

Since the announcement, the public has become more polarised, with regular demonstrations both for and against the president.

Many of Tunisia's foreign allies have called on President Saied to 'return to the democratic path'. Erin Clare Brown / The National
Many of Tunisia's foreign allies have called on President Saied to 'return to the democratic path'. Erin Clare Brown / The National

In his speech following the ceremony, Mr Saied affirmed “we will not stay under the extraordinary measures,” and hinted at a forthcoming national dialogue, which the French Foreign Ministry recently reported was discussed in a phone call between Mr Saied and French President Emmanuel Macron.

He also vowed to fight corruption and urged prosecutors to take the necessary steps to investigate all corruption accusations.

“We will chase the corrupt and the money of the people will be restored to the people and not to those who are acting against the state,” Mr Saeid said.

Ms Bouden echoed his words. “One of the most important goals is countering corruption, which keeps expanding day after day and which leads to the loss of confidence in any attempt to make radical and true reforms.”

Ms Bouden notably reinstated Taoufik Charfeddine as Minister of the Interior, who headed Mr Saied’s campaign in the coastal city of Sousse.

His dismissal in January of this year by then prime minister Hichem Mechichi instigated the dispute row with the Presidency that ultimately led to Mr Saied’s July 25 decision.

Other notable appointments include Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia as finance minister. Ms Boughdiri Nemsia, a tax specialist with a 28-year history at the ministry, had been installed by Mr Saied as a caretaker in early August.

She will face a mounting fiscal crisis as Tunisia runs short of foreign currency reserves and scrambles to repay several billion dollars of debt payments due in coming weeks.

Minister of Justice Leila Jafal, a former judge who led the Ministry of State Property in the Mechichi government, will also face new challenges as Mr Saied pursues his agenda to fight corruption, particularly in the judiciary and among former lawmakers.

Mr Saied has faced mounting pressure from foreign allies to reinstate Parliament and return to Tunisia's previous system of governance, but the leader has stated his desire to reshape the political system into one with a strong presidency and dispersed, local governance.

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PRO%20MAX
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Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

T20 World Cup Qualifier, Muscat

UAE FIXTURES

Friday February 18: v Ireland

Saturday February 19: v Germany

Monday February 21: v Philippines

Tuesday February 22: semi-finals

Thursday February 24: final 

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

The biog

Mission to Seafarers is one of the largest port-based welfare operators in the world.

It provided services to around 200 ports across 50 countries.

They also provide port chaplains to help them deliver professional welfare services.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

Updated: October 11, 2021, 5:51 PM