Populism eats its children: Tunisia’s case Tarek Kahlaoui The results of the 2019 elections in Tunisia show without doubt the overwhelming tendency of the electorate’s rewarding of “new” faces and political formations. The “band new” is not itself guarantee of victory. But not being new became an handicap. But let’s make it clear “New” is not the unknown. Actually being known and famous is a condition of success. “New” means essentially, the appearance of novelty in traditional politics, party politics to be precise. The perception of party affiliation was the keyword of political rejection in 2019. Since 2011, in just eight years, the notion of hizb went from being the novelty to be discovered after so many decades of oppression and anti-parties politics to the old unwanted witch to be buried. What happened in these “quick” eight years is devastating to politicians and political parties. For the perception of the electorate they englobe the whole elite (sidelining other elites including economic and cultural elites). They are “the elite.” They are not only useless in their eyes but also corrupt; wholly corrupt regardless from factual information. The Tunisian case of populism proves without doubt Cas Mudde’s proposal of definition in his 2004 “Populism Zeitgeist”. Populism is not simply “the highly emotional and simplistic discourse that is directed at the ‘gut feelings’ of the people,” Nor is it “opportunistic policies with the aim of (quickly) pleasing the people/voters – and so ‘buying’ their support.” It is rather “an ideology that considers society to be ultimately separated into two homogeneous and antagonistic groups, ‘the pure people’ versus ‘the corrupt elite’, and which argues that politics should be an expression of the volonté générale (general will) of the people.” Whether in perception or discourses that’s the common point between what seems to be contradictory examples such as Kais Saied and Nabil Karoui. All of them express in different forms and with different nunaces the same tendency: they are the pure representation in an increasing number of the electorate of “the people” against a sick and declining elite. Yet as they got into power their outmost dream is to become successful politicians and the new elite. In a difficult political system in which delivering is not easy their fate is sealed: they are representing another version of failure. By the end populism eats its children.