TUNIS — In a televised interview on Sept. 24, Tunisian President Béji Caid Essebsi confirmed the end of the five-year alliance between his ruling party, Nidaa Tunis, and Ennahda. “Relations between Beji Caid Essebsi and Ennahda have been severed at Ennahda’s request,” he said, referring to himself in the third person on the program “Tunis al-Youm,” broadcast by Al-Hiwar al-Tunisi. “There is no longer a consensus between me and them.”

Responding to Essebsi’s remarks, Ennahda issued a statement the following day denying having requested an end to the alliance, stressing its importance for preserving stability in the country. The statement further asserted that Ennahda’s disagreement with Essebsi on how best to maintain stability — which in Ennahda's eyes is by backing Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, a former Nidaa Tunis member — does not affect its alliance with Essebsi.

The alliance, between Tunisia's two largest parties, had been agreed to by Essebsi and Ennahda leader Rachid Ghannouchi during a meeting in Paris on Aug. 15, 2013. On the fifth anniversary of the agreement, Ghannouchi posted lengthy remarks on Facebook about the meeting, stressing its importance in sparing Tunisia the chaos and division experienced by Egypt following the toppling of the government there in 2011.

“The Paris meeting, which set the foundations for a full path of political and societal consensus, has allowed a comprehensive response to the call for national dialogue by civil society organizations,” Ghannouchi wrote. “It set out for Nidaa Tunis and Ennahda the means to succeed in leading a calm political scene with two large parties capable of polarizing the Tunisian street. The meeting restored the balance that was disrupted after the October 2011 elections.”