Every morning he wakes up on the soft bed of his legendary bedroom in Carthage Palace. His terrace overlooks the blue sea. There is nothing in sight to suggest that people are angry, poverty is widespread and the revolution’s goals remain a pipe dream.
Every morning he wakes up on the soft bed of his legendary bedroom in Carthage Palace. His terrace overlooks the blue sea. There is nothing in sight to suggest that people are angry, poverty is widespread and the revolution’s goals remain a pipe dream.
Moncef Marzouki, a human rights activist, Ben Ali’s prominent opponent and founder of the Congress, entered the palace on October 23, 2011. But his former supporters are loosing faith. Many say that the man, whose trademark glasses became the symbol of his electoral campaign, has fallen out of sync with the people and principles which lifted him into power.
The famous glasses have meanwhile shed their symbolic value. Ever since he associated himself with the Ennahda Movement he has become a president who sees nothing, hears nothing and says nothing. Instead, he simply performs the narrow range of duties assigned by the so-called “mini constitution”.
Every once in a while, the elusive president breaks his silence, delivering speeches or outlining positions that are more controversial than his quiet stints. These rare speeches have become jokes shared on social networking websites and among ordinary people. The man, who lives in a palace, earns 20,000 dollars a month and is surrounded by 80 advisors, has recently been dubbed “the prince of the unemployed”.
The interim president has tried to revoke his “interim” designation through various legal processes. He is famous for his burnoose, throwaway slogans and criticism – though quickly withdrawn – of his allies.
One of his gaffes which did the rounds on social-networking sites was a speech referring to the theory of “the shoe and the socks.” Likening the state to a father who owned a shoe and socks, he described Tunisians as the father’s two kids who had to choose between the shoe and the socks. Tunisians laughed out loud.
His slip ups have extended to the nation’s international relations. He was the first head of state to declare war on Syrian diplomacy, expelling the Syrian ambassador. He has tense relations with Algeria and Europe, but excellent relations with Recoba and Imad Dghaije – members of the allegedly violent revolution protection leagues.
After the shockwaves caused by the assassination of secular opposition figure Chokri Belaid on February 6, which provoked widespread protests in Tunisia, citizens expected a speech or a brave stand from the president to defuse the escalating tension. Some even predicted that Marzouki would dissent from Ennahda and acknowledge his mistakes, but instead, he surprised everyone by issuing a statement more than a week later, roundly condemning North Korea’s nuclear test.
So as Tunisians were waiting for their president to quell political violence at home and dissolve the revolution protection leagues, Marzouki called for punishing rogue nations and taking necessary actions to prevent nuclear weapon proliferation.
Tunisians jokingly asked how the president’s voice could possibly reach North Korea when it wasn’t even heard inside Tunisia.
But, regardless of his dwindling reputation, Marzouki seemed determined to portray himself as influential world figure who could embarrass the international community and force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program.
And the tone of the criticism is getting harsher. Recently a fake book about the president circulated on social networking websites. Entitled “Selling Myself ” it claimed it was issued by the premier himself. The author wrote that Marzouki was born in Tunisia by mistake, endured a miserable childhood that created deep and intense psychological complexes. He subsequently studied medicine in France and returned to Tunisia to practice his specialization – diarrhea – and that he was known by the students of the Medical School of Sousse to suffer from nervousness and confusion.
