TUNIS — As politicians debate Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali's proposal to replace Tunisia's ministers with non-partisan technocrats, Tunisia stands on the brink of its third transitional government in just over two years.
This latest change has been precipitated by the killing of leftist politician and human rights lawyer Chokri Belaid. Belaid was shot in the head and neck outside of his home Wednesday morning by two masked gunmen who escaped on a moped. The killing was quickly construed as a political assassination, a nearly unprecedented event in Tunisia which drew thousands into the street on Wednesday and tens of thousands to Belaid's funeral on Friday.