What the Arabic-language media has to say about Tunisia’s recent elections. Translated by Carla Mirza
Each of the countries in the Maghreb touched by the Arab Spring have evolved quite differently. The ascent of the Muslim Brotherhood and other organisations in the region triggered diverse reactions among the people of North Africa.
While Tunisia was the place where the uprisings began, the country witnessed the least amount of violence during its transition to a new form of democracy, compared with other countries in the region.
“Tunisia was and remains, until this day, the exception among countries of the Arab Spring,” wrote Khaled El Dakheel in the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat.
Over the past four years, the country went through many difficult patches but survived them all.
“It was neither ideology nor gunpowder that allowed it to survive but rather politics and dialogue, both quite abundant in Tunisia and yet another reason for which this country is exceptional in a region known for its fear of politics and for its apprehension of dialogue,” he wrote.
“Thus it succeeded in managing its first transitional period after the revolution, while peacefully paving the way to a new constitution approved by all parties and their diverse ideological and political affiliations.
“This led up to the country’s first parliamentary elections to create its Second Republic, a success that shall only be complete after the long-awaited presidential elections in November 2014.”
He noted that “one can hardly compare Tunisia with Yemen, Syria and Libya, as each of these countries and the repercussions of their respective revolutions were drastically different”.
He also said Tunisia succeeded in achieving consensus between its various political powers during the transitional period, while Egypt failed at doing the same thing.
“Egypt’s failure can be explained through three factors: the strong presence of the army, the failure of the Muslim Brotherhood and the frailness of civil society,” he wrote.
“Tunisia’s success was based on the absence of the army, the victory of Ennahda and the strength of its civil society”.
In the Sharjah-based daily Al Khaleej, Suleiman Takieddine considered that, from the start, Tunisia’s old regime was not well equipped to manage the process of an extensive repression, whereas the opposition appeared to be steady in its peaceful political movement through a cohesive movement of unions and that of parties experienced in political campaigning and committed to a democratic process.
This includes the movement of political Islam represented by Ennahda and its leader, Rachid Ghannouchi.
He noted that Tunisia has “a strong civil society, a liberal cultural heritage and a harmonious social identity that have all concurred in excluding elements of contradiction within the broad pool of opposition forces”.
“The Tunisian revolution inspired the spark of the Egyptian revolution and benefited from the Muslim Brotherhood’s failed attempt to take over the country and society, which almost led to a widespread civil clash,” Takieddine wrote.
“In Tunisia, Ennahda opted for the success of the democratic process above all and not for a monopoly.”
In the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat, Diana Moukalled wrote that Tunisia is still nostalgic for its “first experience of secularism with former president Habib Bourguiba, one that is still deeply rooted in its society, line of thought and legislation”.
Another fact, she wrote, is that “Tunisia is one of the countries with the highest number of nationals joining the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)”.
Referring to a recent viral tweet by a young Tunisian woman calling for a secession between the North (known as Tunisia) and the South (called Tunistan), Moukalled said that the country now faces a new challenge.
“The sour notes of this tweet should alarm the victors of the elections, because by punishing Islamists, Tunisia gifted them to ISIL,” she wrote.
“There is a need to grow the ‘Bourguiban’ option and adapt it to the current times, with wisdom in practice and insight from experience,” the writer concluded.
cmirza@thenational.ae
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
FULL%20RESULTS
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Brief scores:
QPR 0
Watford 1
Capoue 45' 1
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Racecard
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Other key dates
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Finals draw: December 2
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Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%C2%A0specs%20
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped