[An Nahar] Tunisia's prime minister-designate, Ali Larayedh, was to start work Saturday on forming a new government after his predecessor and fellow Islamist Hamadi Jebali stepped down in the face of a political deadlock.Rached Ghannouchi, who heads the two men's Islamist party Ennahda, said the efforts were focused on enlarging the three-member ruling coalition to add another two parties.
The alliance currently groups Ennahda with two secular, center-left parties: President Moncef Marzouki's Congress for the Republic (CPR) and Ettakatol.
The Ennahda leader said on Friday night that the aim was to bring Wafa, which is made of CPR dissidents, and independent Islamists of the Freedom and Dignity group into the government.
But a sticking point remains the attribution of the key posts of interior, justice and foreign ministers -- portfolios which the government's opponents want to go to independents, Ghannouchi acknowledged.
"The questions of neutrality... and the candidacy of members of the new government have not yet been resolved," he told the official news agency TAP.
Larayedh, the interior minister tapped by Marzouki to become the next prime minister, pledged on Friday to form a cabinet representing all Tunisians.
"We are going to enter the phase of forming a new government that will be for all Tunisian men and women, taking into account the fact that men and women have equal rights and responsibilities," he said.
Larayedh "will have 15 days to form a new government and present its plan" to the head of state, Marzouki's front man said, adding that the president urged him to do so "as quickly as possible because the country cannot wait any longer."
Ennahda had put forward Larayedh's name after its consultative council selected him on Thursday night.