Ennahda discusses forming new government

Tunisia's ANC President Mustapha Ben Jaafar (C) in Tunis Tunis – Azhar Jarboui Tunisia’s ruling Ennahda party continued on Sunday to discuss the formation of a new government, while the Speaker of the National Constituent Assembly announced the body would resume work next week.
Sources told Arab Today that the Shura council, the policy-making body of the moderate Islamist Ennahda movement, continued on Sunday meetings it began on Saturday to discuss the formation of the next government, as well as discussing proposals for finding a way out of the political crisis that has wracked the country since the assassination of opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi in July.
The source said the question of forming a new government had sparked division with the Shura Council, with members disagreeing over whether current Prime Minister Ali Larayedh should keep his seat, or whether an independent figure should be appointed to form a caretaker government and prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections, scheduled for December.
The Tunisian public is waiting for a clear position from Ennahda on the formation of the new government, as well as the work of the NCA, considered a “red line” by Ennahda and its partners in the coalition government.
Meanwhile, Mustapha Ben Jaafar, NSA Speaker and Secretary General of the Movement of Socialist Democrats (MDS) announced on Sunday that the NCA is expected to resume its work next week, following a political consensus.
Ben Jaafar’s statement came during the MDS National Council meeting in Sousse which discussed the outcomes of the Speaker’s talks with political parties, organisations and national figures aimed at finding a way out of the current political crisis.
Unlike Ennahda, MDS has announced its agreement to the idea of forming a national salvation government, with MDS spokesperson Mohamed Bennour saying Ennahda’s rejection of the proposal will not end the crisis.
Bennour stressed the need to hold talks without preconditions from any political party, until a solution is reached.
The third, secular participant in Tunisia’s Islamist-led government, the Congress for the Republic (CPR) Party, led by interim President Moncef Marzouki, emphasised the need to keep for the NCA to continue, while party secretary-general Imad Aldaimi echoed Bennour’s call for a national dialogue without preconditions.
Despite a number of initiatives and mediation efforts to end Tunisia’s political crisis, the differences between the government and the opposition remain a major obstacle, as the opposition insists on dissolving the NCA and forming a non-partisan national salvation government.