In my post of the 12th January I voiced my fears that the unrest on the streets of the Maghreb countries could be the start of something worse. Now we see: the immovable dictator Zine Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia has gone, fled to Saudi Arabia. Ben Ali had been President since 1987, only Tunisia’s second President since independence in 1956.
He had already said he would not stand for re-election but that was not enough.
Tunisia has had growth averaging 5%, and is the most competitive economy in Africa, with the highest per capita income. It has oil and gas and what until last week was thought to be a stable government.
If Ben Ali can fall, so can the others.
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