In a long post published Saturday December 27, 2025, the former head of government Hichem Mechichi violently attacked part of the opposition who criticize his recent positions against the regime of Kaïs Saïed. An offensive outing, which rekindles the debate on the legitimacy of a long-silent actor.
A frontal attack against part of the opposition
In his message, Hichem Mechichi directly attacks opposition figures whom he accuses of adopting, according to him, the same reasoning as those in power. He denounces a logic that he judges “ absurd », according to which the opposition of certain personalities from the period preceding July 25, 2021 would objectively serve President Kaïs Saïed.
He believes that this speech amounts to considering that “ each time the people see these figures again, they take refuge again in the bosom of Kaïs Saïed and renew their support for him », a thesis that he virulently rejects.
Hichem Mechichi explicitly accuses these opponents of contributing to the disempowerment of the head of state. According to him, this reasoning would allow others to be held responsible for the coup, the imprisonment of opponents and the economic and social collapse.
He writes that this approach amounts to “ exonerate the perpetrator of the coup and shift responsibility to others for the violation of the Constitution, the imprisonment of elites, the destruction of institutions and the widespread collapse of the state ».
To explain what he considers to be a dangerous drift, the former head of government puts forward two hypotheses. The first would relate to a form of fascination with authoritarian power, evoking a “ sorte de syndrome de Stockholm » which would push certain opponents to absolve the one who marginalized them or forced them into exile.
The second would be more political: certain actors would set themselves up, according to him, as exclusive owners of the protest, distributing patents of legitimacy and deciding who has the right – or not – to oppose the regime.
A political return after a prolonged silence
These attacks come at a time when Hichem Mechichi’s recent appearances are causing strong reluctance, including among opponents of the regime. Many believe that his outings are counterproductive, recalling that he remains a figure largely rejected by public opinion and associated with the failures of the pre-July 25 period.
These critics believe that his speeches would reinforce the government’s argument, which equates all opposition with the hated faces of the past, and would thus contribute to strengthening the popular support from which the president would still benefit.
The virulence of this outing contrasts with the silence observed by Hichem Mechichi since his ouster on July 25, 2021. After leaving the country as part of an official mission, he had abstained for years from taking any notable public position on the situation he denounces today.
Its return to public debate also occurs in a heavy legal context. At the beginning of February 2025, the Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance of Tunis sentenced him in absentia to 35 years in prison in the “Instalingo” case, for endangering state security, money laundering and defamation via social networks.
R.B.H
