From tranquil to turbulent in Tunis

Everything has changed for Dutch official.

Being head of the European Union’s delegation in Tunis was not considered the most high-profile job in the Union’s new diplomatic corps – at least, not until a popular uprising overthrew the Tunisian president.

Suddenly, Adrianus Koetsenruijter (pictured) has found himself reporting back to Brussels on a turbulent situation very different from the one he found when he was first despatched to Tunis in 2008 as head of what was then just the European Commission’s delegation.

His predecessor, Marc Pierini, was outspoken, and having fallen out with the Tunisian authorities over their authoritarian ways was moved to Turkey. Koetsenruijter’s brief was to be as non-committal as possible both on human rights – the issue that had got Pierini in trouble – and on Tunisia’s desire for an enhanced association with the EU.

Koetsenruijter, a Dutchman who had previously served as head of the Commission’s delegation in Colombia, was soon accused of being too cautious and too consensual in his dealings with the authorities.

It was obvious to his peers in Tunis, however, that he was simply carrying out instructions from Brussels – instructions that have been exposed as an embarrassment by this month’s ‘Jasmine revolution’.