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 political career of Habib Bourguiba presence in the executive committee could have been useful", he recalled years later. Bourguiba, who thought the Destour and its leadership to be obstacles to his ambitions, decided to resign from the party on September 9. He soon learned from this experience. The success obtained thanks to popular violent uprisings shows the failure of Destourians' favorite methods, consisting of petitions and telegrams. Only violence by determined groups could lead the Residence to step back and negotiate political solutions. That would be his guideline until 1956. Early political career of Habib Bourguiba The early political career of Habib Bourguiba began in