The political situation in Tunisia worries Algeria and Italy. Thursday in Rome, the two Algerian presidents Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Italian Sergio Mattarella spoke at a press conference about the political crisis that has been shaking Tunisia for several months, following the decision of President Kaïs Saeid to dissolve Parliament.
Unfailing support of Tunisia, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who began a three-day state visit to Italy on Wednesday, said a short sentence that is heavy with meaning for Tunisians.
“There is total convergence in our diplomatic and political positions. We share Tunisia’s problems. We are both ready to help Tunisia break the deadlock until it returns to the democratic path,” said the Algerian president, who spoke of the situation in Libya, a country plagued by violence. armed forces since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011.
For Libya, Algeria and Italy “we are ready to help guarantee more stability in this country”, he said. President Tebboune reiterated Algeria’s position on this issue, saying elections are the only solution in Libya
“Beyond all the experiences of the United Nations, the Security Council and Libya’s friends, the only solution remains elections that give the Libyan people a voice and allow the reconstruction of Libya on democratic foundations,” he said. he argued.
The Tunisian press wonders
If in Libya, President Tebboune has said nothing new, this is not the case for Tunisia. It is the first time that the Algerian president has spoken of an “impasse” in this country, which is facing a major political and economic crisis. In Tunisia, Tebboune’s declarations provoked numerous reactions in the media.
“He is at odds with everyone. With the Americans who guarantee credits for his government, with the Europeans who give credits for the budget of his State, and even with his immediate neighbors like Algeria, yet his main supplier of fuels, “summarized the African manager site to explain the isolation of President Kaïs Saïed.
According to the Réalités newspaper, Tebboune’s statements were considered “untimely” in Tunisian political circles, while the Business News site expressed the embarrassment caused by the Algerian president’s remarks.
“If Abdelmadjid Tebboune spoke about Tunisia in this way and allowed himself to ‘interfere’ in the internal affairs of Tunisia, it is because there is something brewing”, considers this newspaper which underlines the dead-end road taken by President Saïed since last summer. A path that has been denounced by the ambassadors in Tunis of the G7 countries (United States, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom)
President Tebboune, who made a state visit to Tunisia last December, has always given his support to this country. Algeria has financially helped Tunisia, which is facing an unprecedented economic crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, by granting it a loan of 300 million dollars last September. Algeria has also provided medical aid to Tunisia in the fight against Covid-19, by providing it with large quantities of medical oxygen and anti-Covid vaccines.
