A story is often a tale of two narratives. There is the story that gets written about and then, there is the real one.
Tunisia's tale is no different. It is a two-story tale. At one level, what has been happening in Tunisia is seen as a victory for autocracy. Up to a point, yes. But the Tunisian tale at this level comes with a caveat. The Tunisians, for that matter, people around the world, want bread, butter and peace. And some freedom to live a good human life, too.
This, autocracy can't deliver. If this is the lesson Tunisia is teaching about governance of countries, then it is a bad teacher. Granted, President Kais Saied has been getting huge support from his people ever since he sacked the government of then prime minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who political analysts say ruled like a despot for 24 years.
The Tunisians seem to be saying that they are all Saied now. Well, almost, if recent protests by sacked judges (there are plenty) and workers' unions are anything to go by. The question to ask is, is the support for Saied or against Ben Ali?
Therein lies the real Tunisian story; the failure of democracy to deliver bread, butter and peace. Tunisia's lesson is one which it should learn for itself.
It is also one that other countries must learn from. This nation of couscous and Carthage gives us the impression that it is one difficult country to govern. In just the last 10 years, Tunisia has had nine governments.
One government for one year is not only a bad election slogan, but a sure way to deliver disastrous economic outcomes for the people. The Tunisian dinar is down and unemployment is up, unevenly across the country.
According to an April report of the World Bank, unemployment was as high as 18.4 per cent in the third quarter of last year. Political analyses of the Tunisian crisis point to another culprit: corruption that has now become endemic. The world may have forgotten this, but not the Tunisians, especially the loved ones of the street vendor who set himself aflame in protest against corruption in the now famous Sidi Bouzid.
If Tunisia was all couscous and Carthage once, it is sadly a Sidi Bouzid now. This should not have happened. Neither in Tunisia nor anywhere else.
For us who live in this "anywhere else" land, we do not want our leaders to come home with the wrong takeaway. The crisis in Tunisia is not showing autocracy as the victor, but democracy, as practised in Tunisia in the lost decade, as the loser. Subtle though the distinction may be, it is one with a difference.
Taking a leaf from Tunisia's book, those who rule and reign should not rush to dismiss their prime ministers or dissolve their parliaments. Or busy themselves drafting new constitutions to entrench themselves for life. Or empower themselves to pass laws as they please.
No, this isn't the Tunisian lesson. Not at all. The Tunisian takeaway is this. Give people bread, butter and peace. And give them decent freedom to enjoy a good human life. Good governance is made of these.