Olfa Hamdi, former CEO of Tunisair, is today one of the most controversial figures on the Tunisian public scene. Training engineer, propelled to the front of news by a flash appointment at the head of the national airline in 2021, she has since turned into an atypical political actress. But his recent outings question: what does Olfa Hamdi really play?
His visit to Tunisair had already made the minds by the speed of his ascent and the brutality of his departure, against the backdrop of the iron with the UGTT and the supervisory authorities. Since then, Olfa Hamdi has multiplied speeches by presenting itself as a credible alternative to the current political system.
But she recently went to a higher level: she was Government’s self -proclaimedsymbolically installing the basics of a “Third Republic”breaking with the Constitution and the political process led by President Kaïs Saïed.
A posture of radical distrust
In his speeches, Olfa Hamdi is no longer content to criticize the traditional political class. It now directly targets the President of the Republic, against which she formulates serious accusations. This posture of frontal distrust, unusual in the current political landscape, earned it a significant media visibility and virulent criticism.
By stirring in the head of a “parallel” government and by calling for a new Republic, Olfa Hamdi plays on a fine line between provocation and political strategy. His supporters see it as the expression of a rare courage and a clear vision to get Tunisia out of the dead end. His detractors denounce a disproportionate populism, an absence of legitimacy and an instrumentalization of popular frustrations.
An uncertain equation
Olfa Hamdi visibly seeks to capitalize on the vacuum left by a fragmented and weakened opposition. By landing as a radical alternative to the President and claiming the launch of a third Republic, she tries to create a political shock. But does the question remain: does this approach be a structured project or a coup de brilliance intended to maintain its media presence?
What is Olfa Hamdi play? To establish oneself as the voice of the most intransigent opposition in front of Kaïs Saïed? To prepare a future electoral candidacy? Or simply to provoke to stay under the spotlight?
