(Refiles to add link to Newsmaker about Saied)
* Tunisia faces prospect of national bankruptcy
* That could wreck Saied’s plan to change constitution
* Economic reforms need broader political support – donors
* Fall in living standards may bring wide social unrest
* Hints emerge of a more aggressive posture on dissent
By Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall
TUNIS, Feb 2 (Reuters) – President Kais Saied says he will remake Tunisian politics in 2022 with a new constitution and parliament after seizing executive power last year in a move his foes call a coup – but the threat of national bankruptcy may upend his plans.
The country requires an international rescue package to avert a disastrous collapse in public finances, with some state salaries delayed in January. But as time runs out, donors say Saied https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tunisian-president-denies-coup-holds-power-tight-2022-02-02 has not done enough to bring them on board.
They want him to embrace a more inclusive political process to ensure Tunisia’s young democracy survives, and strike a publicly acknowledged agreement with his major rivals on unpopular economic reforms to tame spending and debt.
The costs of failure could be catastrophic – terrible hardship for Tunisians, a slide into full-blown autocracy, or a social explosion that could inflame a migration crisis and create opportunities for militants.
Saied already faces bolder opposition than at any point since his July moves to suspend parliament and dismiss the…
