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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 June 2000 Issue No. 487 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 June 2000 Issue No. 487
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Focus Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters New cabinet, same priorities
By Lola El-KeilaniMany Jordanians were thrilled at King Abdullah's decision this week to replace Prime Minister Abdel-Raouf Rawabdeh with Ali Abu Ragheb, a US-educated businessman-turned-politician who was elected to parliament 10 years ago.
But had the king replaced Rawabdeh with any other citizen, the feelings of joy among Jordanians would not have been any less, according to analysts. During his tenure of almost two years, Rawabdeh built himself a negative reputation for failing to achieve any of the tasks set to him by the king in the areas of economic and political reform. In April and May of this year, two petitions were circulated among parliamentarians imploring the king to replace Rawabdeh. A majority of MPs signed these.
Last Sunday, the king accepted the resignation of Rawabdeh and gave Abu Ragheb, who is a staunch advocate of International Monetary Fund policies, 24 hours to form his cabinet.
The new "maxi-government" -- the term being used for Abu Ragheb's 29-minister cabinet -- is expected to push economic liberalisation, a process that has been moving slowly for many years.
According to the king's letter to his new premier setting priorities for the government, Abu Ragheb should focus on strengthening partnership between the private and public sectors, restoring local and foreign investors' confidence in the economy, accelerating privatisation and free market reforms, increasing incomes and decreasing unemployment. The new government will be given, according to the letter, "sufficient time" to push for the expected reforms.
"We have a promising future. Our economic reform programme has started to bear fruit," the king said. He added, however, that "we still need more time to enable people to feel and witness the results of these reforms."
Meanwhile, the king criticised the media and "political salons" for encouraging the public to press for a change of government "without giving the [previous] government ample time [to effect its mandate]." The king made it clear that he will not allow the new prime minister to be treated similarly.
The new cabinet includes a broad spectrum of forces in Jordanian society. Nine of the newly appointed ministers are of Palestinian origin, making this cabinet the one with more Palestinians than any since the disengagement decision with the West Bank in 1988. Two of the ministers were also given the title of deputy premier, namely, Saleh Irsheidat, a former minister and Faris Soliman Nabulsi, a lawyer who will take the justice portfolio.
Nabulsi, is the son of the late progressive premier Soliman Nabulsi, who in the 1950s headed a government supportive of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser. The senior Nabulsi spent many years under house arrest for his ties with Nasser.
Islamists were represented in the new cabinet by Hosni Abu Gheida; Professor Mohamed Duneibat, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood and Abdel-Rahim Akour, a prominent leader of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing and an officially recognised political party.
Akour's acceptance of the ministerial post generated controversy within the IAF. Only hours after his appointment, the organisation issued a brief statement in which it reiterated its current rejection of participating in any government. The statement emphasised that Akour did not coordinate with the Brotherhood leadership before accepting the local administration portfolio. It added that Akour's "violation" of the party's stand would be dealt with in accordance with its internal discipline regulations, implying that he will probably be expelled from the party.
Having announced that Foreign Minister Abdel-Illah Al-Khateeb will retain his post, King Abdullah may be seeking continuity in the country's foreign relations. It is not clear yet how warm the relationship with Israel will be since the new premier and many of his ministers are known to have taken reserved stands towards Israel.
Abu Ragheb has been directed by Abdullah to try to enhance cooperation with all of Jordan's Arab neighbours, including Iraq, so as to increase the volume of trade. This task fits neatly within the framework of the top priority of Abu Ragheb's cabinet; namely, to invigorate an economy that had been fairly stagnant long before Rawabdeh took office following King Hussein's death in February 1999.
