 The leadership of this troubled country changed hands for the second time in less than 24 hours Saturday as security forces and ordinary Tunisians struggled to quell mayhem that some have attributed to henchmen loyal to ousted President Zine el Abidine ben Ali Fouad Mebazaa, president of the lower house of the parliament, was sworn in as chief of state amid fast-moving political developments and chaotic lawlessness that have transformed Tunisia into a symbol of revolution in the Arab world.Mebazaa, 77, became the national president less than a day after Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia , handing power to his prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, whose appointment sparked new demonstrations and questions about constitutional propriety. “It actually happened in my lifetime!” he wrote. He said Ben Ali's departure should have been negotiated over time. But on Saturday, Constitutional Council President Fethi Abdennadher declared the president's departure permanent and gave lawmaker Mebazaa 60 days in which to organize new elections.Hours later, 77-year-old Mebazaa was sworn in and announced that all parties will be consulted "without exception or exclusion. I'm very afraid for the kids and myself," said Lilia Ben Romdhan, a mother of three in central Tunis. "If (Ben Ali) had stayed in the country it would be better.
– Tunisia got a new interim president today—parliamentary leader Fouad Mebazaa—who is technically the third leader in 24 hours, notes the Los Angeles Times. He takes over from the previous interim president, who briefly held power when longtime leader El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country in the face of mass protests over rising prices, joblessness, corruption, repression, you name it. The storyline continues to shape up as one that could set a historical precedent—an Arab populace rising up against its leader. Anthony Shadid, New York Times: "The most enthusiastic suggested it was the Arab world’s Gdansk, the birthplace of Solidarity in Poland, which heralded the end to Communist rule in Eastern Europe. That seemed premature, particularly because the contours of the government emerging in Tunisia were still unclear." Shadi Hamid, Huffington Post: "No one should underestimate what happened yesterday in Tunisia. If the revolution succeeds, it may very well prove to be one of the most important moments in recent Arab history. It will alter the calculus not only for Arab regimes—who are watching very, very nervously—but for Western powers that have long oriented their Middle East policy around seemingly stable, autocratic governments." Click for the latest as chaos continues on the streets.