diff --git a/src/unit_tests/unit_test_main.cc b/src/unit_tests/unit_test_main.cc
index 9fbdf968a..578950ad4 100644
--- a/src/unit_tests/unit_test_main.cc
+++ b/src/unit_tests/unit_test_main.cc
@@ -375,10 +375,11 @@ main_cont (int &argc, char **argv)
 
   try {
 
-#if defined(HAVE_QT)
     pya::PythonInterpreter::initialize ();
     gsi::initialize_external ();
 
+#if defined(HAVE_QT)
+
     //  NOTE: we need an application object, but we don't call parse_cmd. This makes the object
     //  behave neutral as far as possible.
     lay::GuiApplication app (argc, argv);
@@ -395,6 +396,9 @@ main_cont (int &argc, char **argv)
 
 #else
 
+    //  select the system locale
+    setlocale (LC_ALL, "");
+
     //  initialize the modules (load their plugins from the paths)
     db::init ();