There are Battles that Lose Steam, that Dilute into Compromise. And there are Battles that Anchor, Sharpen, and Refuse to be Worn Down by Time.
The fight led by President Kais Saied against lobbies and corruption belongs to the latter category. On Friday, during the Council of Ministers, the Head of State recalled with unwavering firmness that the Tunisian revolution cannot be satisfied with half-measures.
Corruption: A Deep-Rooted System
For him, corruption is not just a simple dysfunction: it is a deep-rooted system, an octopus whose tentacles infiltrate the darkest recesses of public administration. Behind the padded doors of offices and innocuous signatures, organized networks block the future of thousands of young people, prevent social justice from taking hold, and jeopardize the country's independence itself. Saied knows it, Saied says it, Saied persists.
A Solemn Warning
His speech to the ministers was not a usual litany, but a solemn warning: the upcoming laws will not be mere "reformettes." They must be radical responses to long-term unemployed individuals, to entire generations sacrificed on the altar of past compromises. What is the value of legislation if it does not break the chains of corruption? What is the value of a Constitution if it leaves intact the pockets of speculators and parasites who thrive at the expense of the people?
A Clear Line: The Revolution is a Promise
By evoking the youth, Saied draws a clear line: the revolution is not a memory, it is a promise. And to keep it, it is not just a matter of denouncing lobbies, but of unmasking them, confronting them, and definitively eliminating them. "The masks have fallen," he hammered. Those who pretended to be opponents of corruption have revealed themselves to be accomplices in the shadows.
A Historical Break
This observation, brutal but lucid, joins the demand for a historical break. Not an abstract break, but a break that will be translated into "revolutionary" laws, that is to say, laws that uproot instead of accommodating, that build instead of patching up. Tunisia, he affirms, is moving forward with confidence, and this path will not know any turning back.
An Unequal Battle
Certainly, the battle is unequal. The lobbies, invisible hydra, have relays, capital, and a formidable capacity for nuisance. But facing them, the youth remains the sentinel of the revolution, the ferment of a sovereign and dignified future.
Unwavering Commitment
By refusing to change his stance, Saied confirms that the battle against corruption is the beating heart of his political project. A battle where the most formidable weapon remains, still and always, the unshakeable will to break with the past.
