What do Tunisians want from new PM Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri?

Under President Kais Saied, Tunisians barely have time to remember the names of their heads of government, given how quickly they come and go.  

In the early hours of 21 March, Tunisians awoke to news that President Saied had replaced the head of government for the fourth time since he seized near-total power in 2021.  

This time, Kamel Madouri was out. In his place stands Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri, a 62-year-old veteran civil servant, the second woman to hold the post of prime minister in Tunisia, and in North Africa.  

Who is Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri? 

Zaafrani Zenzri is no stranger to the corridors of Tunisian bureaucracy. 

Over a 36-year career, she has risen through the ranks, largely within the Ministry of Equipment and Housing. Her profile fits neatly into the mould President Saied prefers: a technocrat with little political baggage.  

Before her appointment as Minister of Equipment and Housing in October 2021, she served as Director General of the unit overseeing highway projects and the expropriation of land for key urban roads. 

Now, she steps into the Kasbah—Tunisia’s seat of government—tasked with “reinforcing the coordination of government work and removing obstacles to meet the expectations of the Tunisian people,” according to the official presidential statement.  

Unlike when Saied appointed Najla Bouden (2021–2023)—the first woman to lead a government in Tunisia—he has not framed this decision as a victory for women’s rights. After years of cementing his image as a conservative, such “pink washing” appears absent.  

Instead, Saied railed against shadowy “lobbies” allegedly seeking influence through the Kasbah, claiming they had forgotten their subordinate role to the presidency. It seemed a thinly veiled justification for Madouri’s sudden ouster.  

Kamel Madouri, who lasted barely seven months, was dismissed in the dead of night on 20 March, just minutes after President Saied delivered a speech at a National Security Council meeting marking Tunisia’s 69th Independence Day.  

Madouri had prior experience handling national health funds and social dialogue, but his apparent deviation from Saied’s hard line on foreign aid may have sealed his fate. 

On 17 March, he met with the European Union’s ambassador, Giuseppe Perrone, and emphasised the need to translate the 2023 EU-Tunisia memorandum of understanding into actionable projects. 

He also expressed a desire to increase financial support under the EU’s 2025–2027 three-year programme. 

Days later, Madouri was gone.  

“Today, as in the not-so-distant past, lobbies and their agents have turned to the Kasbah, forgetting that the government’s mission is to assist the presidency in its executive function”, Saied declared.

In this narrative, Zaafrani Zenzri’s promotion is as much about loyalty, given that she is one of the few ministers to have survived Saied’s many reshuffles since 2021, eventually making her way to the head of the cabinet.

What do Tunisians expect from Zenzri?

For most Tunisians, the biggest priority is the economy. 

The mounting desperation is evident in the alarming surge of self-immolations and daily clashes, which, according to Saied himself, have become unsettlingly routine.

Inflation is spiralling, unemployment remains high, and the country’s public debt has soared past 80 percent of GDP. 

President Saied ordered authorities to tap funding from the central bank to repay foreign creditors after ditching talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $1.9 billion bailout in 2023.  

Tunisia’s €700 million ($759 million) bonds maturing next July are trading at a yield of around 9.8 percent—high compared to most other governments. Negotiations with the IMF have stalled, with Saied refusing to implement required reforms, including lifting subsidies on basic goods. 

In Tunis, the overall atmosphere is one of hopelessness vis-à-vis the political situation. It is difficult to expect much from the new prime minister, considering her role is a mere extension of the presidency under the hyper-presidential Constitution drafted by Saied in 2022.

“Every time the President appoints someone new, with the longest list of achievements and degrees, they end up as incompetent as the prior one,” Jawhara, a Tunisian teacher, told The New Arab.

Others were reluctant to criticise the president amid a heightened wave of arrests and trials against his critics. However, they admitted that their only hope lies in ‘God,’ the believers among them, or—for the younger ones—the migration boats heading to Europe.

Still, some hope a ‘woman’s touch’ might bring empathy. “Women are not selfish like men. I hope she listens to Tunisians in the villages… and finds a solution to the economic crisis”, said Hajj Abdelhamid, a 60-year-old who has witnessed many of Tunisia’s political upheavals. Despite everything, he retains an unusual sense of hope.  

“We want someone to listen to us and understand us,” he stressed.  

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s last words as Tunisia’s president before he was ousted in the 2010 revolution were “Yes, I understand you,” frantically repeating the phrase in an infamous speech that was supposed to be an olive branch to the protesters.

Today, the disconnect between Carthage, the Kasbah, and the Tunisian streets is once again reaching pre-2010 levels. For many, the crisis feels cyclical.

For Saied, however, the signs of discontent are merely the handiwork of shadowy lobbies. 

“All this is happening just as the trial against those accused of conspiring against state security has begun. No need to say more,” he hinted, referring to the trial of several opposition figures that opened on 4 March in Tunis.