Tunisian crisis deepens as PM threatens to quit

Thousands of backers of Tunisia’s ruling party rallied in the capital yesterday to denounce Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali’s plan to form a new government of technocrats amid deepening political uncertainty.
Jebali, who is seen as a moderate, said he would step down if he failed to form a new government within days as more than 3,000 supporters of his Ennahda party took to the streets to oppose his plans. The prime minister stated his determination to replace the existing Cabinet, including the three key ministries held by the party, in a television interview late yesterday that threw down the gauntlet to opponents within his own party.