A big change comes to Tunisia overnight

It is protestors like these that forced President Ben Ali into exile in Saudi Arabia overnight

A political tsunami has just swept through the northern African nation of Tunisia.

After 23 years in power, the president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has fled the country without warning, and without saying goodbye.

The 74-year-old veteran escaped after weeks of violent protests over economic issues escalated into rallies against him.

He has arrived in Saudi Arabia, where he may spend the rest of his life, nursing his political wounds. 

He would be forced to see his country's future reshaped, starting with Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi who has declared a state of emergency and taken over as interim president.

Mr Ghannouchi, the 69-year-old man in charge of a new Tunisia is not exactly new. He has been Prime Minister since 1999, and it is not beyond imagination that his own days in power are numbered.

But he has quickly laid bare his plans for the future, even as events move at the speed of a desert storm.

He says he would meet representatives of political parties to discuss the future of Tunisia's government.  Prime Minister Ghannouchi at the same time described the country's new era as a "decisive day".

"I will meet representatives of political parties to form a government which I hope will meet expectations," he said.

That journey is bound to be long.

Reactions around the world to the events in Tunisia suggest the overnight revolution has been interpreted as a victory for ordinary Tunisians.

In a statement from the White House, President Obama said "the United States stands with the entire international community in bearing witness to this brave and determined struggle for the universal rights that we must all uphold, and we will long remember the images of the Tunisian people seeking to make their voices heard."

Conspicuously quiet so far, has been Arab countries across the Middle East. This includes Libya and Algeria, North African neighbours of Tunisia. The countries keeping quiet are ones that do not want to see the Tunisian experience replicated in their own backyard.