Tunis — The Liberal Social Party (PSL) emphasised the special importance of the celebration of the anniversary of the November 7 Change in the context of the current developments of the national scene, following the presidential elections of October 25, 2009.

The latter, the party says, renewed the plebiscite around President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and enhanced the pluralistic orientation at the level of the public opinion and within parliament, so that the democratic project will stand as the unique possible perspective for national progress.

In a statement released on the 22nd anniversary of the Change, PSL underlines the need to dwell on some notions of the political scene to open the eyes of those who are not able to understand the characteristics of the Tunisian political process.

The plebiscite of the President of the Republic, it points out, is natural and expected for two reasons: First, President Ben Ali relies on the legitimacy of the November 7 movement which saved the State and the country from decay and discord. Second, it adds, the success acknowledged at different levels was the result of this approach which he initiated in governing and running public affairs.

PSL's statement emphasises that the scientific evaluation of public policies confirms that President Ben Ali managed to revolutionise the economic structure and integrate the social dimension in its re-organisation: a prosperous middle class which guarantees the stability of the system and continuity of civil peace and is pivotal in the creation of a consumer society that mobilises investment.

The most rigorous specialised studies, it points out, acknowledge that sustained modernisation of the production system and preventive development of legislation have brought about a real capacity to resist shocks and face up to the crises.

The statement points out that the impact of the global financial and economic crisis has slowed down the level of growth which ranges between 3% and 3.5% but never brought it down to zero, as it is the case in most of the country, as the Tunisian economy is today among economies that are more likely to benefit from the revival of the world economy. The statement adds that achievements at the political level are far from being insignificant despite divergences of assessments made in this regard.

The statement indicates that several approaches neglect fundamental aspects related to the crisis of the democratic movement and its strategic errors in the period between 1987 and early 1990.

PSL points out, in its statement, that the process of peaceful and gradual reform was not expected to lead to the immediate achievement of the attributes of democratic construction, adding that national concord was grounded, from the outset, in the need for all parties to adhere to the principle of the primacy of civil peace and interdependence between the development process and vitalisation of the opposition parties' role.

PSL indicates that all data show that the campaign for the presidential and legislative elections of October 25 "was in actual fact a free one and that parties fully carried out their right to present their stands and electoral platforms without any restraint and that the results of these elections reflect the attachment of Tunisians to stability and their rejection of overbidding and exaggeration.

The statement points out that the PSL, a true believer in responsible criticism, put forward, in its electoral manifesto, a set of demands away from any complacency to contribute to the promotion of the process of political reform in Tunisia, adding that PSL remains a component of the national scene that does not succumb to the logic of sensationalism and provocative attitude on which some parties are thriving, under the instructions of neo-colonialist lobbies.(TAP)