Intro

Tunisia was supposed to be the success story of the Arab Spring — the only democracy to last in the decade since revolutions swept the region.

Recently, after mass protests, President Kais Saied appears to be taking the reins of power for himself.

What happened? We hear from Mr. Saied and citizens of Tunisia on the ground. 

Guest: Vivian Yee, the Cairo bureau chief for The New York Times. 

Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. 

Background reading: 

• Why is Tunisia’s promise of democracy struggling to bear fruit?
• In the days since their president staged a power grab, threatening their young democracy, many Tunisians are banking on the hope that things cannot get much worse.
• “Why do you think that, at 67, I would start a career as a dictator?” In a conversation with Vivian Yee, President Kais Saied vowed to preserve hard-fought rights.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.