Tunisia's interim prime minister, Youssef Chahed, has selected a new Cabinet, but his choices may make some lawmakers unhappy. After two weeks of intense negotiations with stakeholders, including prospective candidates, trade unions, political parties and former legislators, Chahed presented the names of his appointees to President Beji Caid Essebsi on Aug. 20. The list includes representatives from a variety of organizations and independent interests, a fact that will benefit the country's smaller political parties at the expense of the larger ones.
Though former Prime Minister Habib Essid was ousted by a no-confidence vote on July 30, the most powerful members of his ruling coalition — Nidaa Tounes and the Islamist Ennahda party — still have some representation in Tunisia's new unity government. Smaller political parties and groups, however, have chafed at the influence that their two larger counterparts have been able to maintain within the government because of their representation in parliament. The new Cabinet lineup addresses the imbalance somewhat by giving positions to members of small parties, such as Massar. But Afek Tounes and Ennahda are displeased that the composition of Chahed's Cabinet does not mirror that of parliament. Even so, three of the previous administration's most important ministers — Interior Minister Hedi Majdoub, Foreign Affairs Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui and Defense Minister Farhat Horchani — have kept their posts.
At 40 years old, Chahed is the youngest prime minister in the Arab world, and he has many challenges ahead of him. After only two weeks in office, he has received criticism for his close ties to the Tunisian president's family. At the same time, he has taken on the difficult task of selecting a Cabinet that can both gain the necessary approval of parliament and meet the demands for technocratic leadership coming from Tunisia's upper class. (Many Tunisians believe that technocrats, rather than politicians, are the best-suited to push through the economic reforms required to receive promised funding from the World Bank.) Despite several political parties' dissatisfaction with the proposed Cabinet, it could still survive the parliamentary vote scheduled for Aug. 26 if meetings between Chahed and leaders from Nidaa Tounes and Afek Tounes go well.
If it is approved, Chahed's new government will immediately turn to tackling one of its biggest potential obstacles: Tunisia's powerful labor unions. The Tunisian General Labour Union and the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts command an enormous amount of respect among the Tunisian people but historically have had a complicated relationship with the government. Unemployment is a major issue in Tunisia, and the country's unions have the ability to either improve or worsen the situation depending on their willingness to cooperate with Tunis. Several of the ministers and secretaries on Chahed's list have experience working closely with the unions and will be instrumental in smoothing the government's negotiations with them in the future.
