(Bloomberg) -- The political and economic situation in Tunisia is “bad and has reached a severe crisis that cannot be continued and must be overcome as soon as possible, ” the country’s president Beji Caid Essebsi said, in an interview with Nessma TV.

The crisis must be overcome while preserving the participation of all, including Islamist party Ennahdha, the president said in the interview. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed must move to change the situation and improve it, and if that is not possible then he must resign or to go to parliament to demand confidence again, Essebsi said, according to the TV channel.

--With assistance from Zaid Sabah.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihen Laghmari in Cairo at jlaghmari@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Colin Keatinge

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