Tunisia's prime minister resigned Tuesday, elevating a political crisis that has shaken a country seen as a model for the region's Arab Spring democratic transitions.
Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali said he would step down after his own party refused to back his demand for a new government of independent technocrats. Mr. Jebali's plan, an effort to stanch a crisis sparked this month with the assassination of one of the government's main political critics, has driven a wedge between him and his own ruling Islamist Ennahda Party.
His resignation stands to deepen the tension between the country's ruling Islamists and the predominantly secular opposition, especially if Ennahda tries to replace Mr. Jebali with a more conservative and controversial prime minister. Among the names being circulated as possible successors are Ennahda leaders who are seen as hard-liners likely to spark fierce objections among the opposition and more agreeable moderates.
But many Tunisian political leaders, both within Ennahda and the opposition, believe the broadly popular Mr. Jebali is likely to return as prime minister at the helm of a new more inclusive government. Such a deal would allow the party to show it stood firm against Mr. Jebali's calls for a technocrat government but avoid being accused of forcing the popular leader out of office. If that happens, it would likely ease tensions in the country significantly.
Before the latest round of political uncertainty, Tunisia stood as a model of democratic change in the region, known for its 2011 popular uprising that overthrew dictatorship and kicked off the Arab Spring. But the Feb. 6 assassination of leftist opposition leader Chokri Belaid, a fierce critic of the Ennahda-led government, threatened to derail that transition.
"The goal was to save the country and stop the violence with a neutral government, free from political fighting," said Mr. Jebali, who is Ennahda's general secretary. "I am still convinced this is the best way forward.... But it became clear to me that this initiative did not have the necessary support of the parties."
Mr. Jebali's Ennahda Party and Ennahda's junior coalition partner, the secular Congress for the Republic Party, were the only parties opposed to his plan.
Ennahda said it hopes to tap Mr. Jebali once again to form a government. After announcing his resignation Tuesday night, Mr. Jebali said he would consider accepting such an offer if the next government enjoyed broad political support, if there was a firm date set for new elections and if the Constituent Assembly wraps up drafting the country's new constitution, which has taken months longer than planned.
Mr. Jebali issued his call for the Ennahda-led government to be replaced with one of independent technocrats just hours after Mr. Belaid's killing. He publicly pledged to resign if Tunisia's political parties didn't back his call.
The proposal enjoyed broad support within Tunisia and among the opposition, who feared Ennahda's control over sensitive ministries such as the interior was being abused to rein in the party's political foes. Ennahda officials deny that.
But Mr. Jebali's plan infuriated many of Ennahda's leaders, with some accusing him of betraying his party. Already reeling from mounting criticism of the government, the normally disciplined Islamist movement found itself reckoning with a public split among its senior leadership.
To many in Ennahda, relinquishing control over government to technocrats after a little over a year in power would be an admission of failure. Many feared it would doom their prospects for re-election in a vote expected this year. They argue that it is their right to govern since they won elections in fall 2011 and that turning to unelected technocrats at every impasse would undermine confidence not only in Ennahda, but also in the democratic process.
For the past week, the country has waited to see whether Mr. Jebali or his party's leadership would blink first. Political party leaders across the spectrum have huddled in daily negotiations, hoping to convince Ennahda to back Mr. Jebali's proposal or else to hammer out an alternative government acceptable to both sides.
Over the weekend, Ennahda's 120-member Shura Council met to hear out Mr. Jebali. Mr. Jebali, a veteran member of Ennahda who served 15 years in jail, argued that a technocratic government would ensure a smooth transition until the next elections, whose date hasn't been set yet, and ensure Ennahda doesn't shoulder all the blame for government missteps, said Ennahda Shura council member Osama Saghir.
Mr. Jebali failed to convince a majority of the council. Roughly 70% of Ennahda's leadership voted against Mr. Jebali's proposal, Mr. Saghir estimated.
On Sunday and Monday, Mr. Jebali held more negotiations with Tunisia's various party leaders at his offices in the Tunis suburb of Carthage, trying to find a compromise that would include both independent technocrats and party-appointed ministers.
But Ennahda and the secular opposition clashed over which ministries would be turned over to independents and which would remain in Ennahda's hands. The opposition demanded that the Islamists give up control over the ministries of interior and justice, since those are the ones that are most likely to be used to suppress political rivals or influence elections. Ennahda—represented at the talks by party leader Rached Ghannouchi and Amr Larayedh, a controversial hardliner—balked, say people present at the talks.
Opposition party leader Noaman Fehry, whose Gomhury Party is part of a coalition that is widely forecast to be Ennahda's biggest challenger in the next elections, said Ennahda's leadership has indicated it would be willing to give up control of those ministries if more opposition parties agreed to join the government.
"They want people like us to join the government and to accept part of the failure," said Mr. Fehry. "We don't see the need to get into the government now and throw them a lifeline."
Attempts to broker a compromise in recent days were complicated by the all-or-nothing stance Mr. Jebali staked out on early in the crisis and by his fellow party members' equally adamant rejection of that proposal. Mr. Jebali's resignation may prove a means for both sides to climb down and save face before agreeing to a compromise, said Mr. Fehry.
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