The Tunisian government of Prime Minister-designate Hichem Mechichi won the confidence vote with a total of 134 deputies voting in favor of forming the cabinet of 28 ministries.
The new cabinet, which was sworn in by President Kais Saied, will seek to implement a set of priorities announced earlier and solve a number of stifling social and economic problems.
Immediately after announcing the result, the European Union welcomed in a statement the new Tunisian government and hoped this development will ensure the political stability that the country needs to face its socio-economic challenges, aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The European Union wishes to recall the privileged partnership with Tunisia and reiterates its will to work closely with the new government in the pursuit of the country’s sustainable development, and more specifically in the support of the reforms process in favor of the Tunisian people.”
The new government consists of experienced figures including judges and persons who worked in the private sector.
The prime minister called on his cabinet to hit the ground running in an effort to "save the country." He said his government would successfully "move forward" as long as it was not the victim of political wrangling.
After obtaining the confidence of the parliament, the government is expected to shift the political roles and alter the parliamentary and political scenes.
Unlike the government of Elyes Fakhfakh, which had the support of only four political parties: Ennahda Movement, the People's Movement, the Democratic Current, and Tayha Tounes movement, Mechichi’s cabinet gained the support of six parliamentary blocs.
Observers believe the vote for the cabinet will change the parliamentary scene, with political parties supporting the new government and others opposing its orientations.
The parties opposing the new government included the democratic bloc representing the Democratic Current Party, the People's Movement, the Dignity Coalition, and the Free Destourian Party.
Prior to the confidence vote session, the Free Destourian Party sought to isolate the Islamist Ennahda movement from the political scene and ensure that it did not participate in the new government.
However, its attempts were unsuccessful, as Ennahda continued to support the new cabinet and joined other parliamentary blocs in backing it, such as the National Reform Bloc, Tahya Tounes, Heart of Tunisia, and the Future Bloc.
Ennahda managed to regain its position in the parliament and establish the position of its President Rached Ghannouchi.
International donors are closely monitoring developments in Tunisia, which is supposed to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose four-year program expired last spring.
