Tunisian democracy facing its biggest crisis

Tunisia’s decade-old democracy is facing its biggest crisis yet, after the president ousted the government and suspended parliament last night amid fierce protests.

A surge in covid deaths and a flat-lining economy have fuelled anger in a country once billed as the Arab Spring’s only success story.

President Kais Saied’s decision to do away with the government – a coup in the eyes of his political opponents –  has prompted scenes of both celebration and recrimination.