New Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid formed a cabinet Friday, handing many ministries to Nidaa Tounes, the leading bloc in parliament, but none to the Islamist party Ennahda, which led the previous government. Essid, a former interior minister, was tasked with forming a new government earlier this month by President Beji Caid Essebsi, who won Tunisia's first free presidential election in December.
His name had been put forward by Essebsi's Nidaa Tounes, which won parliamentary polls in October. Ennahda came second. "This government is a government of national competences that comprises politicians... civil society figures and people who have experience and expertise," Essid told reporters. Speaking after submitting his team to Essebsi, Essid said he had formed the cabinet following consultations with political party chiefs and civil society figures. The party's secretary general, Taieb Baccouche, was named foreign minister. The ministries of health and transport also went to Nidaa Tounes.