But a decade of stubborn unemployment, rising poverty, metastasizing corruption and political deadlock — and now the pandemic — have wiped out faith in the government. This past month, Tunisians again flooded into the streets to demand change, giving Mr. Saied his opening to seize power. I’d spent several days in the capital when, suddenly, I got the call to go with two other journalists working for The New York Times to see the president. His formal Arabic boomed off the marble floors as though the room had been built to his acoustic specifications. “This is not a press interview,” he said when we began to ask questions, though he promised to arrange a follow-up.

Source: New York Times August 01, 2021 11:47 UTC