u/Dama_1974

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As an opponent of Kaïs Saïed's regime, it's genuinely encouraging to see more and more people finally speaking out and waking up to what's happening.

What I've noticed, however, is that many of the criticisms aimed at the regime are rather superficial, as if getting rid of Kaïs Saïed alone would solve the problem.

Kaïs Saïed is a weak and incompetent president who didn't engineer his rise to power so much as he stumbled into it. His election in 2019, despite being virtually unknown to the general public, was made possible by a Facebook campaign fueled by the same bot networks that have been manipulating our country's politics for the past two decades.

From 2019 to 2021, Kaïs Saïed did what Kaïs Saïed does best: being a clown. One bizarre performance after another, always wrapped in classical Arabic and metaphors that sound like they belong ten centuries in the past.

Meanwhile, the people surrounding him (far more pragmatic and politically savvy than he is) were already pushing him toward decisions designed to destabilize Tunisia's young democracy and pave the way for a potential power grab.

They first had him appoint Elyes Fakhfekh as Prime Minister, despite the fact that he had little support in an already deeply fragmented parliament. Five months later, Fakhfekh was forced to resign to avoid a vote of no confidence over alleged conflicts of interest.

Saïed then appointed Hichem Mechichi, only to refuse to cooperate with him shortly afterward. He stopped receiving him at the presidential palace, publicly criticised him on multiple occasions, and even refused to sign laws that had been passed by parliament. At the same time, the very same bot networks that had promoted Saïed in 2019 shifted their attention to relentlessly attacking Tunisia's democratic institutions, further poisoning an already dysfunctional political climate.

On July 25, 2021, Kaïs Saïed and those around him reaped the rewards of the instability they had helped create. Many Tunisians celebrated, believing he would finally deliver on the anti-establishment promises he had repeated for years.

Instead, the only system he managed to dismantle was the post-revolutionary one: political parties, civil society organizations, activists, independent media, artists, and engaged public spaces.

And that's the point I'm trying to make.

The real system (the one that bet on Kaïs Saïed in 2019 and continues to rely on him today) has no interest in allowing Tunisians to freely criticize it or openly discuss alternatives.

That system is the one that has truly governed Tunisia for decades. Like poisoned soil, it rejects every new shoot before it has a chance to grow.

It is the product of a grotesque alliance between Tunisia's bureaucracy and a handful of wealthy families that have long monopolized the private sector. Everything is designed to prevent ordinary citizens from escaping the socio-economic grip of these two forces. If the cost of living keeps rising, it's because they keep enriching themselves at our expense. If every public administration we deal with seems determined to make our lives harder, it's because they have no interest in making our emancipation any easier.

But the people who benefit from this system are intelligent. They know, for example, that the average Tunisian is socially conservative, and that legalizing things like homosexuality, apostasy or equal inheritance would provoke far greater public outrage than any of their financial or political corruption ever could. That's why we remain stuck when it comes to fundamental rights and freedoms.

They also know that Tunisians are easily distracted. A few carefully manufactured controversies are often enough to make people forget the injustice the system imposes on them. Armies of bots, corrupt journalists, and useful idiots never miss an opportunity to divide, outrage, and distract. That's why we keep seeing the same seasonal culture wars over and over again: the Mawlid celebration and accusations of heresy, cafés staying open during Ramadan, public money supposedly going to festivals instead of hospitals... and then the cycle starts all over again.

Kaïs Saïed is merely the face of this system. His main contribution has been the same as before him: ensuring that all public anger is directed at a single man while protecting a status quo that is fundamentally hostile to youth, meritocracy, and freedom.

Let's bring down Kaïs Saïed, but let's not forget that he's only the useful consequence of a system that is rotten to its very core.

EDIT:

P.S. I'm not suggesting there's some secret cabal pulling every string behind the scenes. By "the system," I simply meant a network of persons and institutions with entrenched interests that often end up protecting one another and preserving the status quo, even without centralized coordination.

(NB: this isn't about Dr Ahmed Souki as a person. It's actually a very widespread behaviour among many Tunisians)

Netsawer lkolkom ta3rfouh Dr Ahmed Souki, eli btw mezel kif mna3 men wa3ka se7iya. Nchalah he4eka 7ad el bes.

Personally I enjoy watching his content a lot. Ensen ba7bou7 w cheye5 b7yeto. And apparently he's one of Tunisia's best gynecologists.

However, kol mayji ya7ki fel siyesa wala fel wa43 l3am manha4amch klemo.

Lbera7 mathalan habet vidéo 3al sbe7 yhani fel twensa b3id el jomhouriya, mba3d bde ya7ki fi klem men 9abil "mouch wa9t balbla w mechekel ... taw kol chay yetsale7 ... nosbro 3ala bledna", w betbi3a yo9sod fel masira mta3 lberah.

Nzidkom zyeda. Dr Ahmed Souki la 3omri sma3to yetkalem 3al mechekel wel 5awar fi sbiratna w saydaliyetna etounsiya. El atebe2 el choben 3anew w houma y3ayto w ybar7o w ynabho eli wa4e3hom w wa43 9ita3 el se7a mechi fi hewya. Dr Ahmed Souki masma3touch senedhom wa law bkelma.

W mouch hedha kahaw. El doctour mayfalatech forsa bech y3aber 3ala efti5aro bel sayed wezir el sa7a, eli marito 3mal chay bech ysale7 wa43 el sa7a fi tounes.

Again this is not only about Dr Ahmed Souki. Netsawarkom sma3to zeda bel les instagrammeuses eli saybo kol chay w 5arjo 9aloulna "osbro 3ala bledkom, weli ken yekri fi makinet oxygène ykamel yekri m3aha générateur".

Ti a3lech nemchiw leb3id. Netsawer ay 7ad fina sma3 leklem he4a fi 3ayelto wala bin s7abo. Tal9ahom ness ya lebes a3lihom w ya3tiw fel drous lela3bed, ya stenso bel miziria w y7abo y8atiw 3in el chams bel 8orbel.

Ma3adech enajmo noskto 3al klem he4a. Ma3adech enajmo noskto 3ala ness tra fi bledha tete7ra9 9odem 3iniha w be9i t9oulelna "osbro". Nosbro 3ala chnouwa ? 3al ham wel 8am ? Bekchi el mahdi el monta4ar jey fel doura w ena mafibelich ?

و لكم سديد النظر

طبالة النظام البارح تكتلوا يد وحدة باش ينشروا صورة قديمة قال شنوة من مسيرة البارح، و يتفكهجوا على الأعداد "القليلة"، ناسين الأشكال إلي هبطت في الصباح مساندة للنظام.

هذا بخلاف التعليقات الخامجة و المسخة من قبيل قوم لوط خرجوا يحتجوا، و قداش فرقوا من ورقة بو خمسين، و شبيهم يبردوا في القايلة.

آخرتها محرز الغنوشي مهبط الإحتفالات الليلية متع مهرجان أوسو بسوسة، قال شنوة هاذم خرجوا مساندة للنظام (يعني إلي يخرج عايلتو يتفرجوا في عرض شماريخ يولي مساند للنظام)، و يقارن فيها مع حجم مسيرة البارح.

Don't give up guys. They're afraid and they're dumb. Victory is ours!