Opinion: Tunisia As Regional Role Model

In Tunisia's parliamentary elections, secular forces won out against the Islamists - and progress toward democracy does not only manifests itself in the election outcome, says DW's Rainer Sollich.

Nearly four years after the so-called Arab Spring began, the region is in a shocking state: Large swaths of Syria and Iraq are subject to the terror of the "Islamic State" (IS). The dictator of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad, continues to bomb parts of his citizenry. Libya and Yemen are sinking into chaos wrought by rival militias.



In Egypt, the military has won back its power from the Muslim Brotherhood and is significantly curtailing Egyptians' freedom. Tensions between various ethnic and religious groups are consciously being exploited in many places in order to secure political power. In reality, everything has just gotten worse. One would almost be prepared to declare the entire Arab Spring a failure - were it not for the example of Tunisia.



'Ray of light'



German Chancellor Angela Merkel is completely right in describing the small Maghreb state as a "ray of light" among the turmoil in the Arab World. Tunisia was the starting point of the wave of revolutions throughout the region. Today, it's the only country there that continues along the path toward democracy and the rule of law in a clearly visible way. It has thus far remained remarkably stable, showing progress with the peaceful unfolding and high voter turnout in the recent parliamentary elections in spite of the fear of terror strikes. Tunisians can only be congratulated on that front!



But Tunisia, too, is suffering from high unemployment and a lack of economic prospects. The country also has problems with the old regime's cadres and Islamists of varying shades right up to terrorists. Fortunately, the country's political class has thus far managed to address Tunisia's numerous problems in a largely peaceful way that has aimed at as much consensus as possible.



In contrast to Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood wanted to rule on its own before being brutally pushed out of power, Islamists and secular powers in Tunisia have until now handled things in an exemplary way when it comes to preventing political power struggles from tearing the country apart or setting its development back by decades.



Fair losers



The initial reactions to the polls raise the hope that the country will continue down this promising path. The projected winner is the Nidaa Tounes block, in which representatives from the former regime are collaborating politically with secular forces. The Islamist Ennahda party - an ideological antipode to Nidaa Tounes - has become only the second strongest political force this time around. The Tunisian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood quickly admitted its defeat and congratulated the winners. Here, too, is a gesture of political culture and reasonability that one would seek in vain elsewhere in the region.



Going forward, various scenarios are conceivable, and the presidential election next month could result in a further shift of power. Only this much is clear: winners Nidaa Tounes will have to form a coalition, either with the moderate Islamists in Ennahda or with another smaller secular party.



The social and economic challenges ahead are enormous. For Tunisia's future, it will be of at least as much significance for the now disadvantaged Islamists to be responsibly included in the political process so that they don't radicalize from the inside out. That's at the core of the "Tunisian experiment." Europe should do all it can to support the country.