Tunisian Islamists hire US lobby shop
Ennahda has hired PR giant Burson-Marsteller to boost the party's image ahead of next month's elections.
Tunisia's Ennahda movement has hired public relations giant Burson-Marsteller to boost its image in the United States ahead of elections that could see the Islamist party return to power.
The public relations push by the Muslim Brotherhood-inspired group comes as the Barack Obama administration has declared war on Islamists in Iraq and all but signed off on the military coup that deposed its ideological brethren in Egypt. Ennahda, by contrast, is keen to maintain good relations with the United States, which has provided an economic lifeline to the struggling nation.
"They still have to live down the reputation of Islamists coming to power in the Middle East," said David Ottoway, senior scholar with the Wilson Center's Middle East program. "I think they're anxious to show that there is a side of the Islamists that believes in democracy."
Burson-Marsteller signed a contract with Ennahda's London office, according to lobbying reports filed with the Department of Justice. The bare-bones document indicates that the PR firm has agreed to "arrange meetings between Ennahdha representatives and stakeholders" and "encourage support for free and fair elections in Tunisia" with the goal of providing Ennahda "support on media and stakeholder outreach in advance of upcoming elections."
