Habib Bourguiba was more or less nonexistent. The constitution vested Bourguiba with sweeping—almost dictatorial—powers. Bourguiba himself admitted this when a journalist asked him about Tunisia's political system. Bourguiba replied, "The system? What system? I am the system." In this context, the SPD became an "alibi in an ideological desert". It is important to specify that, during his conquest and exercise of power, he systematically rejected all his allies who became rivals: Abdelaziz Thâalbi and Mohieddine Klibi, who represented the bourgeoise faction of Destour; Salah Ben Youssef, supported by Naser, that he assassinated in 1961. Tahar Ben Ammar who ratified the independence protocol
Early life of Habib Bourguiba in certain public spaces and enjoying less rights than the native population. Bourguiba had excellent results during the first part of baccalaureate and ended up choosing Philosophy section, to the grand surprise of his classmates, Bourguiba being the first in mathematics class. Bourguiba stated that he wanted to "prepare himself properly for the big battle". Likewise, he justified his decision saying: "It was for me to approach a new nuanced discipline which was not like mathematics where two plus two always equals four. Philosophy addresses indeed complex issues that opened new horizons in my mind, eager for knowledge. Thus, I