“Even if no one has come, the people are with you Mr. President”
Couples the Sofien Ben Hamida
Why do the demonstrations of support for the regime in place and the person of the President of the Republic systematically fail and often turn to ridiculous, while manifestations of protest, whatever their mobiles and despite the differences, sometimes deep, which cross the protesters, better mobilize the street and monopolize, a little bit, the attention of public opinion?
A date that divides more than it brings together
The date of July 25 is no longer what it was. It is no longer the date around which Tunisians meet to commemorate the end of the Beylical regime and the advent of the First Republic in the millennial history of Tunisia.
Too many events were grafted on this date and ended up starting the aura of its symbolism: the assassination of martyr Mohamed Brahmi, deputy and leader of the Panarabe Echâab movement in 2013; The death of former president Béji Caïed Essebsi, first president of the Republic, died in the exercise of his functions in 2019; The dismissal of the head of government, the forced closure of the Parliament and the grabbing of all the powers by the President of the Kaïs Saïed Republic in 2021.
Suddenly, July 25 has become a date that divides. Everyone takes this opportunity to brandish their own standards and not the only flag of the fatherland. The abuses of power and the political, economic and social situation helping, the date of July 25 has become par excellence the meeting of the protesters.
On July 25, this year, was no exception. The supports of the President of the Republic were a few dozen people who ridiculed themselves on the marches of the municipal theater by their slogans, their cries and their crying. They were pitiful by their apparent fragility. They were shame by their mediocrity to those who encouraged them to show themselves as well as to those they are supposed to support. One of the participants in this tragicomic episode exclaimed by crying: “Even if no one has come, the people are with you Mr. President”. He didn’t think he said so well.
When ” people “ becomes an empty concept
Indeed, Tunisian citizens were not invited to this demonstration of support for the simple reason that the power in place has always sought to rule out the citizens of public affairs. For him, citizens are unbearable by the rights they demand and their desire to constantly control leaders. They were quickly replaced by a fanfaron concept, the definition of which is so wide and intangible that it no longer means much: the concept of ” people “dear to all populists.
For them, the advantage of ” people “ is that it is indefinite and is not likely to claim anything, especially since, most often, the populist replaces the people, monopolizes the word in the name of the people and ends up becoming himself “The people”.
On July 25, the President of the Republic was not on the marches of the municipal theater. Only his poster sadly hung on the facade of the building. It was therefore normal that the people were not there, even if he supports the president since it is him, the people.
Isolation of a power without real basis
The fiasco of the gathering of support for the President of the Republic on July 25 is not the failure of a demonstration. It is the failure of populism, a system that we want to impose on Tunisians at all costs. By continuing to ignore the Tunisians, the power in place is condemned to isolation. His current sustainability, he does not owe it to his base, “The people”unable to fill the steps with a theater. Its strength lies in the implementation of state bodies at the service of power but especially in the weakness of the actors, unable to renew themselves and be up to the political moment.
