Tunisia's new government will hold its first cabinet meeting on Thursday, a minister told AFP, amid controversy and protests over the continued presence of figures from the ousted regime in the executive.
"It will be tomorrow morning," said Nejib Chebbi, the new regional development minister and the leader of the PDP opposition party.
Tunisia's caretaker prime minister aims to gather his national unity cabinet, but he already faces revolt from opposition nominees demanding he fire more of the ousted strongman's allies.
Within a day of Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi appointing several opponents of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, four of them quit his new government, saying street protesters who triggered the upheaval were disappointed at how many of the old guard, including Ghannouchi himself, were still in power.
Union not to join govt
Tunisia's main trade union, a key player in protests that ousted authoritarian ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, on Wednesday said it would not join a new government with "old regime" figures.
"We cannot take part in a government that includes symbols of the old regime," Abdessalem Jrad, secretary general of the UGTT, Tunisia's biggest trade union, after a meeting with Ghannouchi.
Abid al-Briki of the UGTT trade union, whose three ministerial nominees all resigned, said it still wanted to see all ministers from Ben Ali's old team cleared out, though it would make an exception for Ghannouchi. "This is in response to the demands of people on the streets," Briki said.
Trying to defuse the row, Ghannouchi and caretaker President Fouad Mebazza quit the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD) -- until this week the party vehicle for Ben Ali's strongman rule.
One of the rebel new ministers, Mustafa Ben Jaafar, indicated that move might be enough to tempt him back.
But the UGTT responded that, while their ditching of old party cards was positive, it was not sufficient. Ghannouchi said some ministers were kept on because they were needed in the run-up to elections, expected in the next two months