Tunisia's new national unity government has already run into trouble after four ministers quit and an opposition party threatened to walk out.

Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi brought opposition leaders into the coalition Monday after president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia following weeks of popular protests. But new opposition appointees and street demonstrators were angered when key figures from the old guard kept their jobs.

The opposition argues the overwhelming presence of ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally party members in the newly named government is a ploy to deny them the fruits of their "Jasmine Revolution". In an effort to defuse the row, Ghannouchi and caretaker President, Fouad Mebazza, have quit the ruling party.