The authority of moral standards

More good news.  The rapacious Tunisian autocrat Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has been forced out of office and he has fled the country to Saudi Arabia.  Hooray!  Last elected, sorry, returned to power in 2009 with a Stalinist-era style 89.62% of the, er, popular vote, he has in all likelihood been persuaded, sorry, told to go by a combination of the ruling elite and the army who are the real power brokers in the country.  Whether this coup can lead to the necessary democratic and economic reforms remains to be seen.  The Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi, who has taken 'temporary' presidential powers, is surely the former President's 'own man' and too intimately associated with the corruption, repression and economic woes of the 'old regieme' to lead the country into better times?  Unfortunately Tunisia may descend into chaos and the unrest may spread, perhaps to neighbouring Algeria and for broadly similar reasons.   But surely it is time for the West to speak out strongly against the political corruption and stagnation in the region, the absence of human rights and the dynastic autocracies that dominate much of the Middle East?  Pragmatism is one thing.  Being able 'to do business' with nation states whose governance is morally repugnant may be a reality of international relations, but are there no limits?  I cite again the conclusion to Steven Lukes' book Moral Relativism, and I paraphrase slightly: 'There are multiple best ways for human beings to live, but this should not preclude making moral judgements and recognising the authority of moral standards.'