Tunisian caretaker PM endorses Turkish model

Tunisians favor moving to a political system based on the Turkish model, said Tunisia's caretaker Prime Minister Muhammad Gannushi yesterday. Speaking to Italian daily La Stampa, Gannushi, who took office after mass protests ousted the country's longstanding autocratic President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali last month, said, "The political system that we should hold up as a model is the one in Turkey. We look favorably on Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan." Stating that Tunisians are closely following events in Egypt, where hundreds of thousands of protestors have demanded an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, Gannushi added, "Whoever you ask, everyone praises the system in Turkey, and cites it as an example for us." Gannushi said they are maintaining close ties with modern, Islamic-orientated political groups with such as Turkey's Islamist ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and Morrocco's Party of Justice and Development. "We especially feel close to the Turks," he added.