TUNIS – Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Larayedh unveiled a new coalition government led by the moderate Islamist Ennahda party Friday, saying it would serve only until an election later in the year. Larayedh replaced Hamadi Jebali, who resigned following the assassination of secular politician Chokri Belaid on Feb. 6, which provoked the worst unrest in Tunisia since the uprising that overthrew Ben Ali two years ago. Ennahda's coalition partners – the center-left Ettakatol and President Moncef Marzouki's secular Congress for the Republic (CPR) – are the same parties as in the previous government. “Our country needs national unity,” Larayedh told a news conference, saying his government would not last beyond this year, with elections likely to be held in October or November. “You must be patient. The road to democracy is long,” said Larayedh, interior minister in the outgoing Cabinet, which had struggled with Islamist-secular tensions as well as frequent popular unrest over unemployment and rising living costs. Ennahda has ceded control of several key ministries to independents in the new cabinet, with career diplomat Othman Jarandi named as foreign minister, Lotfi Ben Jedou interior minister and Rachid Sabbagh defense minister. Elyess Fakhfakh of Ettakatol, an economist, keeps the finance portfolio. Jarandi, a former ambassador to the United Nations, has strong ties with international bodies and the West. Ben Jedou and Sabbagh are both judges. Ben Jedou took part in an investigation into the killing of dozens of young men during the “Jasmine Revolution” that toppled Ben Ali and inspired revolts against autocrats around the Arab world. Twelve members of Jebali's cabinet stay on, including Agriculture Minister Mohamed Ben Salem and Human Rights Minister Samir Dilou, who are both members of Ennahda, as well as Culture Minister Mehdi Mabrouk, an independent. – Agencies
