Ben Jaafar and ‘the escape forward’

         I think Mr. Ben Jaafar didn’t bother to ask himself the question that imposes itself: what are the causes of the defeat of Ettakatol in the late parliamentary elections? 

As a simple observer or an elector, I see that the defeat in the parliamentary is due first to unexpectedly allying with a party he promised his electors in the election campaign not to ally with. Second, once allied with this party Ettakatol was not influential in any single occasion on the policy of the majority party. Mr. Mustapha keeps reminding us of his/their greatest achievement: the constitution. Any average follower of political events in Tunisia knows this is not the outcome of your work in the council. It’s rather the outcome of the agreements outside the council and the pacific movement that accompanied and enhanced those agreements so politically speaking; you (all the MPs) have nothing to advance as achievements in the council except the frequent quarrels and fights that frustrated Tunisians for three years.

When it comes to personal merits I find that Mr. Ben Jaafar is undemocratic, contradictory and misleading.

        “The consensus president”: The suggestion of a “consensus president “or “appointed president” is undemocratic. It means for me in simple terms: “Tunisians are not mature, they do not know who is best for them so it’s our duty we the wise politicians to choose for them and they need only to go numerous to the polls and elect whom we’ve already chosen for them” .Don’t you see Mr. Mustapha that this is not a logic of Democrats but rather the logic of your allies: the leadership chooses, appoints and the people are unable to choose…?

         Diabolizing the winners: Mr. Ben Jaafar is contradicting himself. The winners in the elections won simply because electors voted for them. Do you think that Tunisians made a huge mistake when they voted for them? This is an insult Sir to those who voted for them. Mr. Mustapha kept warning Tunisians of the election winners and the possibility of power abuse. Please don’t tell people again “you are going to regret this choice”. Let’s look at the fearful choice: Tunisians might choose politicians from the same party for the executive. Mr. Ben Jaafar says we should not have the same party for the government and the presidency and that we should have “a balance between the executive (gov) and the executive (president)”. Does Mr. Ben Jaafar really consider what he says? The real balance is between the executive and the legislative. I don’t think he really believes what he says. I see he is deliberately mistaking electors and he is using the very logic he is constantly condemning which is making Tunisians afraid of a particular choice. It’s true that the campaign focused a lot on “the Tunisian way of life and the possibility of changing it” But don’t you really think that this fear was real? Anyway Tunisians are grownups and whatever choice they make you should respect and ask yourself where you made mistakes because it’s likely that individuals make mistakes not peoples.

 Briefly with total respect, I find this logic undemocratic, contradictory and misleading that’s why Mr. Ben Jaafar is escaping forward, hasn’t changed and is not  different.