spend money on advertising as other parties do. In any case our accounts are audited by the state. We are not a state within a state. We work within the law and we are prepared at any moment to be subject to a review. If it turns out that our accounts are not transparent the state could ban the party.

Several parts of society and associations, including doctors, hold for several months information meetings and training, so people are informed of what’s going on [regarding] politics, especially to find solutions that are designed to thwart the advance of your party.

It is an aberration, as many political parties and NGOs receive funding from abroad, but are not controlled. We know that there are parties and groups working against us and it is their right. But we are against the financing from abroad.

It’s political money, but unfortunately no one is talking about this. Several countries have granted money to help NGOs and political parties in the name of democracy.

Will you maintain bars, cabarets and other places of entertainment, including in tourist centers, in the event you gain the majority?

We support the belief and not submission. We do not think the state should intervene with force to demand any model. The state should leave society to interact and thus there will be a model that will triumph. But, of course, there are moral limits to respect.

Are you optimistic about the future of Tunisia?

Certainly, I was always optimistic. Even during the era of Ben Ali, I was expecting revolt against the regime.

Political parties close to Islamists are accused of being behind the attack on AfricArt theatre, that led the prohibition for artists to perform in the south of Tunisia. I consider these events a trap. Some Islamists are manipulated by opponents to Islamist parties and by those who are against the transition. These acts are blamed on Islamists so that Tunisians would believe that they do not deserve democracy. And that if there is democracy the Islamists will not be guarantors of it.

The attack against the AfricArt theater saw some of the abusers wear false beards that detached from their faces. All this is intended to create an Islam phobia. These methods have been used by Ben Ali to show that he was an ally to the West. In return he would receive money and silence on the abuse of human rights. This method was used in Algeria at a period of time, when secret services would dress as Afghans to commit crimes. It begins to emerge in Tunisia.

Now, do you think Maghreb Union is a viable entity?

The Arab Maghreb Union is dead and deserves to be buried.

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