The New Regime Settles In

Zine al-Abidine ben ʿAli’s deft removal of Bourguiba produced a public reaction well described with an analogy to the world of sports. Just as knowledgeable spectators respond with relief to the retirements of once-great athletes who have extended their playing days well past their prime, lost the gift for making the big play, and become a liability rather than an asset to their teams and a source of embarrassment, perhaps not to themselves, but certainly to aficionados of the game who remember their peak performances, the public was relieved when Bourguiba stepped down from office. Alert to popular anxiety about the chief executive’s health, and fearful that Bourguiba’s vindictive, erratic behavior would sooner or later cause irreparable damage to the state, those positioned to effect a leadership change judged, correctly, that the Tunisian people would support them. The transfer of power elicited no protests on behalf of a restoration; nor were there jubilant celebrations. Rather, the prevailing mood was one of gratitude that the transition had occurred constitutionally, peacefully, and seamlessly. Ben ʿAli promptly stepped into Bourguiba’s role not only as head of state but also as head of the PSD, suggesting that whatever transformations might flow from the “Historic Change,” they would not include a disentangling of the thoroughly interwoven lines between the state and the party. To symbolize the advent of a new leadership, however, the PSD was renamed the Rassemblement Constitutionnel Démocratique (RCD; Democratic Constitutional Rally). The retention of the reference to the constitution tied the party to its predecessors, but the remainder of the title anticipated a broader and more egalitarian institution than the Dustur, Neo-Dustur, or Socialist Dustur had ever managed to become.