Tunisia is the "lucky country". That's usually a phrase associated with Australia - which is indeed fortunate as it is not all that far from China and possesses a whole empty continent full of natural resources the Chinese need and are willing to pay for.
But in the context of the Arab world - at least right now - Tunisia wins the "lucky" label hands down. The Arab Spring began there and, while it has turned into a harsh winter everywhere else, in Tunisia it goes on. Last week, Tunisians held their second parliamentary election since the revolt of 2011. The election went off without a hitch.
Ennahda, the Islamist party that was the winner in 2011, lost its majority. Its spokesman, Lotfi Zitoun, told Reuters: "We have accepted this result, and congratulate the winner." The winner is the very secular Nida Tounes ("Tunisia calls").
But Nida Tounes cannot form a government outright - it must find a coalition partner.
Here, things get interesting, because Ennahda would like to be that partner. "We are calling once again for the formation of a unity government in the interests of the country," said Mr Zitoun.
Islamists killed two secular politicians - but the country held fast
The pro-business Nida Tounes has other options, including forming a coalition with the main left-wing parties, but for the moment negotiations are on hold pending the outcome of next month's presidential election.
In any case, the post-election atmosphere in the country is civilised. Compare this to the turmoil in Egypt and Libya, much less Syria, and you understand what I mean by "lucky".
Luck, of course, is the residue of design. For three decades after independence, Tunisia was ruled by Habib Bourguiba. The late president had been educated in France and, while he was a strong nationalist, he had imbibed the idea of laicité, the separation of religion from state function, and he also understood the importance of education and women's rights. He made sure these concepts became part of the foundation of Tunisian society.
Nida Tounes's candidate in the upcoming presidential election, Beji Caid Essebsi, worked with Bourguiba. Mr Essebsi is now tipped to win the presidency.
Mina al-Oraibi, assistant editor of Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, thinks it unlikely Nida Tounes will reach out to Ennahda. "One Tunisian activist once told me, 'I believe in Islam, the Islam that Bourguiba taught us to love, not what these people bring'."
Ennahda represents the constitutional form of Islamic politics, but hardline Islamism cannot find purchase in the country at all. Earlier this year, two leading secular politicians who were part of the Ennahda-led coalition government were assassinated by hardliners. Tunisian society held fast, as these elections prove, and the jihadists have moved on.
Chris Doyle, director of CAABU, the Committee for Arab-British Understanding, explains: "Tunisia was more resilient politically and less liable to become a failed state, so extreme Islamists have gone elsewhere for more favourable pastures."
Tunisians are the largest contingent of foreign fighters in Islamic State. They account for between 2,500 and 3,000 soldiers out of an estimated 15,000. Tunisia's well-designed good fortune is Syria and Iraq's misfortune.
