Tunisian President Kais Saied has removed Prime Minister Kamel Maddouri from office, replacing him with Housing Minister Sara Zaafarani. This happened on Thursday, as Tunisia struggles with economic issues and migration problems in the country. This is the third leadership shift in two years under Saied, who has been gaining in his own power since the dissolution of parliament in 2021.
Giving a speech on television on Friday, Saied accused Maddouri’s government of neglecting the citizens and claimed that “criminal gangs” have infiltrated public institutions. Tunisia is under some serious economic pressure, with GDP growth barely reaching 1.4% in the past year, and severe shortages of staples such as sugar and rice, and a very quickly rising public debt. Earlier this year, Saied also fired Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri due to his dissatisfaction with how the economy was being managed.
Zaafarani, who was an engineer and then went into politics, has been put as Prime Minister to apparently "boost government coordination and respond to the needs of the people". This happens as Tunisia is currently dealing with a huge increase in migration, with many people from countries south of the Sahara stranded in southern towns while attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. The has led to some clashes between migrants and locals.