Adapting to democracy

Tunisia’s coalition government, its first to emerge from free and fair elections, has been on a steep learning curve through its first year in office. In the October 2011 vote for a constituent assembly, the Islamists of the Nahda (‘Renaissance’) party reaped the gains of their unflinching opposition to the deposed regime of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, but the credit this brought them is wearing thin as economic recovery lags. In the parliamentary and presidential elections planned for 2013, Nahda will struggle to repeat its resounding success of last year. The party has had to adapt rapidly to operating in a democracy, and the Tunisian media, much of which remains in the same hands as before the revolution, has been eager to jump on its mistakes. One such mistake was Nahda leader Rachid Ghannouchi’s failure to put enough clear blue sky between his party and the extreme conservatism of certain