Three years into the revolution, Tunisia has changed in important ways. The direction of this change is still not clear. But important gains would be hard to deny. Chief among these are: freedom of the press and association; demystification of political power and of politicians; loss of the personality cult, which used to litter Tunisia with photos and posters exhibiting leaders. Another main gain has been the consolidation of civil society and the unprecedented building of a block of unlikely bedfellows, namely the labour union (UGTT) and the employers' association, in a body which has been managing national dialogue and mediating between conflicting political parties.