TUNISIANS are by and large a peaceful people. This fact, in no small measure, explains why first under Habib Bourguiba after independence from France in 1956 and then under Zine Abidine Ben Ali, the country put up with an, at times, highly repressive dictatorship. It took the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old street vendor in protests at his own oppression to trigger a revolution. In less than a month Ben Ali was gone. Now just 26 months later, the country that set off the Arab Spring is in deep political trouble. The assassination of leading secularist politician, Chokri Belaid last week has deepened clear divisions within the country. It has brought furious demonstrators onto the streets to confront police with stones and firebombs, in an eerie reprise of the revolution that brought down Ben Ali. Belaid supporters accuse the moderate Islamist Ennahda party of being behind the assassination. Ennahda has the largest single group in parliament but has had to govern in a coalition. In a desperate response to the upsurge in unrest, Ennahda prime minister Hamadi Jebali proposed the formation of a government of technocrats until fresh elections could be called. His party rejected the suggestion outright. And indeed, this is probably a sensible view. The solution to the challenges facing the Tunisian revolution have to be political. After so many years of dictatorship, state institutions are not yet strong enough to support a technocratic government in the style of that of Mario Monti in Italy. It is inevitable that whoever was asked to form a caretaker government until Tunisians could again choose their legislators, would be judged in some way or another political. Therefore, any attempt to form an administration that would be seen to have truly no political agenda would be doomed to failure. In reality, it is up to the existing political leaders to address the rising crisis. It is perfectly possible that Islamist extremists were behind the Belaid killing. Thus, to accuse Ennahda of the slaying is unwise. There are Al-Qaeda-linked extremist forces now unleashed throughout North Africa who must welcome the polarization that is taking place in Tunisia. More such killings will serve to pitch moderate Islamist and secular Tunisians ever more furiously against each other. Indeed, the day before his murder, Belaid warned of just such a development. Hopefully, however, it is not too late for Tunisia to draw back from the brink of chaos and anarchy. What is needed is for leaders of all political colors to come together in a compelling and high-profile demonstration of unity that will convince every single Tunisian that they too must pull together. While this unity cannot include their differing political visions for the country's future, it can and must make clear that politicians recognize that it will be a catastrophe for Tunisians to turn on each other. Only the extremists and men of violence will benefit if the country descends into pandemonium. Meanwhile, probably the last thing that is on the minds of rival Tunisian demonstrators is that in Libya and Egypt in particular people are watching them anxiously. If the country where the Arab Spring was born, where there is a relatively small and homogeneous population and where there is a potentially strong economy, is unable to succeed, what hope is there for others that have followed in its path?
