Ghali of the Al-Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center believes the effectiveness of this anti-Ennahdha rhetoric may be amplified because people blame Ennahdha for the continuing social and economic crisis. This crisis is also seen as a verdict against the 2011 revolution, since the overall economic situation appears to have deteriorated since then.
“During these past ten years we have been witnessing economic destruction… we are talking about a state’s bankruptcy,” Mhamdi, the PDL supporter, told Meshkal/Nawaat.
A conditional loan program to Tunisia from the IMF set up since the revolution has resulted in the devaluation of the Tunisian dinar which has in turn triggered significant inflation and an increasing trade deficit. Meanwhile, the economic reform program attached to these loans have not reduced unemployment, stagnant at about 16 percent since the revolution, while austerity measures have produced significant cuts to public services in every sector except defense and policing. This economic deterioration may have fed into an overall nostalgia for the old regime.
“In almost every experience of transition, there is a form of almost nostalgia for the past and Abir Moussi illustrates perfectly this nostalgia…She is navigating on this wave of Bourguiba era, sometimes even mentioning the Ben Ali era, while I personally think that she is a pure daughter of Ben Ali’s era,” said Ghali.
Moussi as “Content Creator”
While Moussi and the PDL may not be talking to journalists, Moussi’s own ability to bypass journalists and speak directly to supporters through rallies and social media may be another factor behind the PDL’s recent surge in the polls.
In a live video stream shared via her official Facebook page that lasted for about two hours and had over 320.000 views as of this article’s publication, Moussi showed her followers what she claimed to be an attempt to prevent her from entering certain areas of the parliament building, namely the office of the speaker of Parliament, Ennahdha leader Rached Ghannouchi.
“I am the epitome of opposition here…they want a parliament without opposition…the opposition is forbidden from entering the [speaker’s] office of the Parliament…This is no democracy…this is fascism,” Moussi said in the feed. “This is a systematic process to silence the opposition because the Destourian Party [PDL] represents the opposition in the country.”
Mehdi Ghazzai, a communications specialist and cofounder of the media and communications outlet LOOK TM who has gained attention for his Facebook posts analyzing politicians’ speeches, said he sees Moussi as being a “content creator.”
The [Facebook] live allows us to go to places we have never seen before, like the parliament… it is also well moderated with points A and B. She starts her lives by telling the audience what she will show them and ends it with that goal…that makes us [viewers] adopt her perspective,
Ghazzai said.
In her Facebook lives, Moussi accused other parliamentary blocs of taking money from foreign parties, referring to how parliamentary assistants are receiving remuneration from the National Democratic Institute (NDI), an organization that was established by the United States Congress and receives funding from the U.S. government.
Showmanship and Threats
According to Ghazzai, Moussi uses “showmanship” to tap into people’s emotions, avoiding specific policy issues which might not inspire new supporters.
A PDL rally doesn’t “look like a political meeting but rather a one-woman show…she has a wholesome ritual with music at the beginning,” Ghazzai explained. “When you watch, it is something entertaining…how she tells jokes and makes impressions of other politicians…in a way she turns a popular meeting into a real show.”
“It’s good if you talk about your political perspectives, but that’s only for an intellectual audience that knows about politics. But when you learn how to use these showmanship skills, you will be able to stimulate sentiments and your messages would come across,” he added.
Moussi has begun to hold rallies and demonstrations across the country. She drew what appeared to be over 1000 people to a rally in Sousse on February 22, held another a rally in Beja on March 7, and staged a March 9 protest at night in Tunis against the International Union of Muslim Scholars, where the PDL alleged police used violence to disperse their supporters.
“She creates this imminent threat rhetoric, talking about the threats she keeps receiving and how someone wants to assassinate her, and who are the NDI?” Ghazzai said. “There’s always the “them” in the story, which we do not know about, and who want to harm Tunisia.”
But while some have been drawn to this rhetoric, many others do not believe the PDL are serious about making political change.
“Life is hard now, however, they are not present there for the people but to fill their pockets instead…I will not vote for [PDL] again because they won’t benefit me in any way in the future,” Meriem a 30-year-old judge told Meshkal/Nawaat.
“I am no longer one of Abir [Moussi]’s supporter because what I am currently seeing in the Tunisian political scene is not appealing at all and does not give any hope. I think that these political parties, whether Ennahdha or Moussi’s PDL, are only serving their narrow partisan interests,” she said.
This article was produced as part of a reporting partnership between Meshkal and Nawaat