An Italian newspaper has sparked a new controversy in Tunisia after reporting that President Kais Saied suffered a “heart attack,” while no official comment or denial of this news has yet been issued.
In its issue published today, Friday, the newspaper “Il Foglio” published an article by journalist Luca Gambardella, in which he confirms that President Said suffered a heart attack that required his transfer to the military hospital and undergoing emergency surgery, noting that there is a severe official cover-up regarding the incident.
The same newspaper had sparked a similar controversy last May after reporting on discussions it said were taking place within Italian decision-making circles to find a “successor” to President Kais Saied, considering Tunisian-Italian businessman Kamal Gharibi to be the most suitable for this task.
Former MP Majdi Karbai wrote: “Whether all this information is accurate or not, the real problem remains the same: Why do Tunisians learn about such sensitive news from the foreign press, while state institutions remain silent?”
He considered that “the health of the President of the Republic, when it has repercussions on the stability of the state, is not a personal matter, and transparency is not a favor from the authority, but a duty towards the citizens. As for the policy of secrecy, it only leads to fueling rumors and deepening fears of a vacuum and ambiguity in the management of state affairs.”
Activist Hala Gharbi criticized what she called the “media blackout” practiced by the Tunisian authorities regarding President Saied’s health, which is forcing Tunisians to follow this matter through the Italian press.
Former MP Ziad al-Hashemi believes that Saied's absence from the spotlight and his failure to carry out any presidential activity for more than a week confirms what the Italian newspaper published about him suffering a health crisis.
Former Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem wrote: “We are all susceptible to illness and the fate of death, and that is God’s way with His creation, as He made that apply to the ruler and the ruled, the poor and the rich, the white and the black, the believer and the non-believer. But man invented the idea of the institution to overcome the limitations of the human being and to transcend death, because man grows old, dies and perishes, and the structures and institutions continue after him.”
He considered that “the news of Said’s illness or even his death is not the important event, but what is more important is how Tunisia can regain its balance and overcome the general vacuum created by the coup, through rationalizing a state that has gone beyond the bounds of reason, and restoring the country’s political, social, cultural and economic institutions that were deliberately sabotaged, and then working to develop and reform them within the framework of a free, organized and conscious society.”
Last May, Ghraibi issued a statement on his social media pages denying his intention to run for the presidential elections in Tunisia.
But he confirmed in a new post a few days ago that “every Tunisian, inside or outside the country, has the full right to run for the presidency of the republic whenever he meets the legal conditions. This is a right guaranteed by the constitution and the law, and it should not be turned into a pretext for abuse, treason, or questioning patriotism.”
He continued, saying: “When I decide to run in any election, no one will prevent me from exercising my right as a Tunisian citizen. The first and last word will remain with the people, and the ballot box alone will decide.”
It is worth noting that Tunisian President Kais Saied subtly criticized the previous article by the Italian newspaper, stressing that the state is not run by suspicious blogs and pages that he said promote lies.
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