Le parti islamiste d'Ennahda, au pouvoir en Tunisie depuis l'automne 2011, peine à stabiliser le pays deux ans après la révolution et joue sa survie face à une série de crises politiques et sociales ainsi qu'à des violences orchestrées par des extrémistes salafistes.

L'impasse est illustrée par un conflit ouvert au sein même d'Ennahda: le numéro deux et chef du gouvernement Hamadi Jebali a été désavoué dans son camps après avoir annoncé en urgence la formation d'un cabinet apolitique, réclamé par son allié laïc, le président Moncef Marzouki, et l'opposition.

L'annonce est intervenue dans un climat particulièrement tendu après l’assassinat de Chokri Belaïd, un farouche opposant aux islamistes. Cet acte sans précédent dans la Tunisie contemporaine risque de faire basculer le pays dans le chaos d'une violence politique croissante et décriée.

"Les autorités savaient que Chokri Belaid était menacé et n'ont rien fait", a déclaré à l'AFP le chef du parti Républicain Ahmed Néjib Chebbi, révélant figurer lui-même dans une liste de personnalités politiques menacées de mort.

M. Chebbi s'inquiète dès lors de la "menace pesant sur la paix civile" et du "risque de voir la transition démocratique compromise", d'autant qu'aucune compromis n'est en vue sur la Constitution, ce qui empêche toute élection.

Son parti s'est allié à un front de l'opposition laïque réitérant l'urgence de dissoudre les milices pro-Ennahda dites "Ligues de protection de la révolution" (LPR).

Mais le pouvoir a fait la sourde oreille aux appels de dissolution de ce groupe responsable d'une attaque spectaculaire en décembre contre le siège de l'Union générale tunisienne du travail (UGTT, principal syndicat de masse) et du meurtre en octobre de Lotfi Naguedh, un opposant battu à mort dans le sud.

Les ultras d'Ennahda ont même choqué en appelant à la libération des suspects dans ce meurtre.

Besma Khalfaoui, la veuve de M. Belaïd, a aussi accusé le gouvernement de l'assassinat de son mari, alors que des manifestations ont eu lieu aux cris de "Le peuple veut la chute du régime" dans Tunis et plusieurs régions du pays, où des locaux d'Ennahda ont été saccagés par la foule en colère.

Ennahda est aussi confronté à des poussées de violences sociales réprimées ces derniers mois par la police, alors que le chômage et la misère, détonateurs du soulèvement qui emporté le régime de Zine El Abidine Ben Ali en janvier 2011, continuent de miner le pays.

"Les citoyens sont saignés à blanc, le gouvernement doit assumer l'échec", a prévenu Hamma Hammami, dirigeant communiste.

En outre, le tourisme, fer de lance de l'économie et sinistré depuis la révolution, peine à se relever tant l'image du pays a été écornée par les attaques orchestrées par les extrémistes salafistes contre des bars, des mausolées et des artistes ces derniers mois.

Les enquêtes piétinent et Abou Iyadh, le chef du groupe jihadiste Ansar Al-Charia soupçonné d'avoir organisé l'attaque contre l'ambassade américaine, qui a fait quatre morts parmi les assaillants en septembre, échappe toujours à la police.

La menace extrémiste est d'autant plus importante que le ministère de l'Intérieur a établi un lien entre les partisans d'Abou Iyadh et les groupes armés liés à Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique (AQMI) qui affrontent la police dans les maquis du centre et nord ouest limitrophes de l'Algérie.

Depuis la chute du régime de Mouammar Kadhafi en Libye voisine, la Tunisie est aussi devenue une plaque tournante du trafic d'armes, dont d'importantes quantités ont été découvertes en janvier dans le sud, aux portes du Sahara.

Enfin, l'opposition laïque accuse Ennahda de chercher à orchestrer une islamisation rampante de la société et de tenter de juguler la liberté de la presse.

Bsh/alf/fc

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  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    People surround an ambulance transporting the body of Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid, from from a clinic in Tunis to the public hospital for an autopsy, after he was shot dead with three bullets fired from close range, on February 6, 2013. Tunisian Premier Hamadi Jebali called the assassination 'an act of terrorism', as the country grapples with growing political instability. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • Police look for clues next to the car in which Chokri Belaid was shot to death in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. The Tunisian opposition leader critical of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims was shot to death Wednesday ó the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in the North African nation whose path from dictatorship to democracy so far has been seen as a model for the Arab world. (AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)

  • The body of Chokri Belaid is loaded into an ambulance from the hospital toward the morgue after he was shot to death in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb.6, 2013. The Tunisian opposition leader critical of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims was shot to death Wednesday — the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in the North African nation whose path from dictatorship to democracy so far has been seen as a model for the Arab world. (AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)

  • Moncef Marzouki, President of Tunisia, delivers a statement at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. Marzouki, who is from a secular party in the governing coalition, was in Strasbourg addressing the European Parliament and said the assassination was a threat against all of Tunisia. Chokri Belaid, a Tunisian opposition leader critical of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims was shot to death Wednesday _ the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. (AP Photo/Christian Lutz)

  • The blood stained car belonging to Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid after he was shot to death in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. A critic of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims, Belaid was shot to death outside his home Wednesday, in the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in the North African nation whose path from dictatorship to democracy so far has been seen as a model for the Arab world. (AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)

  • A man cries at the ambulance carrying the body of Chokri Belaid after he was shot to death in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. The Tunisian opposition leader critical of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims was shot to death Wednesday — the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in the North African nation whose path from dictatorship to democracy so far has been seen as a model for the Arab world. (AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)

  • Tunisians demonstrate outside the home of Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid after he was shot to death in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. A critic of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims, Belaid was shot to death outside his home Wednesday, in the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in the North African nation whose path from dictatorship to democracy so far has been seen as a model for the Arab world. (AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)

  • People throng the streets as an ambulance carries the body of Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid outside the hospital towards the morgue, after he was shot to death in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. A critic of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims, Belaid was killed outside his home Wednesday, in the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in the North African nation whose path from dictatorship to democracy so far has been seen as a model for the Arab world. (AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)

  • Besma Khlifi, wife of Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid, reacts after he was shot to death in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. A critic of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims, Belaid was shot to death outside his home Wednesday, in the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in the North African nation whose path from dictatorship to democracy so far has been seen as a model for the Arab world. (AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)

  • Besma Khlifi, wife of Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid, reacts after he was shot to death in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. A critic of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims, Belaid was shot to death outside his home Wednesday, in the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in the North African nation whose path from dictatorship to democracy so far has been seen as a model for the Arab world. (AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)

  • Besma Khlifi, left, wife of Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid, reacts after he was shot to death in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. A critic of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims, Belaid was shot to death outside his home Wednesday, in the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in the North African nation whose path from dictatorship to democracy so far has been seen as a model for the Arab world. (AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)

  • A man looks at the site where Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid was shot to death in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. A critic of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims, Belaid was shot to death outside his home Wednesday, in the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in the North African nation whose path from dictatorship to democracy so far has been seen as a model for the Arab world. (AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)

  • Police officers secure the scene where Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid was shot to death in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. A critic of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims, Belaid was shot to death outside his home Wednesday, in the first political assassination in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in the North African nation whose path from dictatorship to democracy so far has been seen as a model for the Arab world. (AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)

  • FILE - In this Dec.29, 2010 file photo, Tunisian lawyer Chokri Belaid attends a press conference at the lawyers' Bar in Tunis. A Tunisian opposition party says Wednesday, Feb.6, 2013 its leader, who had criticized the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims, has been shot to death outside his home. The Unified Democratic Nationalist Party says Chokri Belaid was shot as he left his house in the capital Tunis on Wednesday. Witnesses say he was taken to a nearby clinic and died.(AP Photo/Hassene Dridi, File )

  • FILE - In this Dec.29, 2010 file photo, Tunisian lawyer Abdraouf Ayadi, left, shows injuries to his back he claims were caused by police officers, while Chokri Belaid looks on, during a press conference at the lawyers' Bar in Tunis. A Tunisian opposition party says Wednesday, Feb.6, 2013 its leader, who had criticized the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims, has been shot to death outside his home. The Unified Democratic Nationalist Party says Chokri Belaid was shot as he left his house in the capital Tunis on Wednesday. Witnesses say he was taken to a nearby clinic and died.(AP Photo/Hassene Dridi, File )

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    People surround an ambulance transporting the body of Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid, from a clinic in Tunis to the public hospital for an autopsy, after he was shot dead with three bullets fired from close range, on February 6, 2013. Tunisian Premier Hamadi Jebali called the assassination 'an act of terrorism', as the country grapples with growing political instability. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    A protester shows tear gas canisters fired by Tunisian police towards protesters following a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    Basma Chokri (L), the wife of assassinated Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid, is seen wearing blood stained trousers as she is comforted by friends following her husband's death after he was shot dead with bullets fired from close range on February 6, 2013 at a clinic in Tunis. President Moncef Marzouki has cancelled his participation in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Cairo and is heading back to Tunisia after the murder of opposition leader Chokri Belaid, the presidency said. His assassination comes at a time when Tunisia is witnessing a rise in violence fed by political and social discontent two years after the mass uprising that toppled the former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    The body of Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid, shot dead with three bullets fired from close range by a man wearing a traditional long garment with a pointed hood on February 6, 2013, is transported in an ambulance from from a clinic in Tunis to the public hospital for an autopsy. Tunisian Premier Hamadi Jebali called the assassination 'an act of terrorism', as the country grapples with growing political instability. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    A Tunisian protester jumps amid smoke after police fired tear gas during a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead with three bullets fired from close range, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    A policeman prepares to throw a stone during clashes with Tunisian protesters during a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    Tunisian protesters flash the sign of victory during a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead with three bullets fired from close range, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    Tunisian protesters shout slogans during a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead with three bullets fired from close range, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    People protect themselves from tear gas smoke during clashes between Tunisian police and protesters following a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    An elderly woman is escorted away from tear gas smoke during clashes between Tunisian police and protesters following a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    Tunisian protesters remove fences during a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead with three bullets fired from close range, on February 6, 2013. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    Women protect themselves from tear gas smoke during clashes between Tunisian police and protesters following a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    People protect themselves from tear gas smoke during clashes between Tunisian police and protesters following a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    An elderly woman is escorted away from tear gas smoke by a riot policeman during clashes between Tunisian police and protesters following a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    Tunisian protesters shout slogans during a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead with three bullets fired from close range, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    Tunisian people shout slogans during a rallye in front of Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead with three bullets fired from close range, on February 6, 2013. President Moncef Marzouki denounced the killing of Belaid, an outspoken critic of his government, as an 'odious assassination', while Ennahda chief Rached Ghannouchi told AFP the killers wanted a 'bloodbath' in Tunisia. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    Tunisian protesters shout slogans during a rallye outside the Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead with three bullets fired from close range, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. The protesters, who massed on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ousted ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pelted the police with bottles and the police responded by firing tear gas, chasing the protesters and beating them with batons. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    Tunisian people shout slogans during a rallye in front of Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead with three bullets fired from close range, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. President Moncef Marzouki denounced the killing of Belaid, an outspoken critic of his government, as an 'odious assassination', while Ennahda chief Rached Ghannouchi told AFP the killers wanted a 'bloodbath' in Tunisia. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

  • TUNISIA-POLITICS-UNREST-OPPOSITION

    Tunisian people remove fences and barbed wire during a rallye in front of Interior ministry to protest after Tunisian opposition leader and outspoken government critic Chokri Belaid was shot dead with three bullets fired from close range, on February 6, 2013 in Tunis. President Moncef Marzouki denounced the killing of Belaid, an outspoken critic of his government, as an 'odious assassination', while Ennahda chief Rached Ghannouchi told AFP the killers wanted a 'bloodbath' in Tunisia. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)