JORDANIAN MPS EXPECT NEW GOVERNMENT, BUT NOT NEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 006281

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2013
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN MPS EXPECT NEW GOVERNMENT, BUT NOT NEW
PM, LATER THIS YEAR; COMPLAIN ABOUT POVERTY, CONSTITUENTS

REF: A. AMMAN 05245


B. AMMAN 05012

C. AMMAN 04764

D. AMMAN 04246

Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for Reasons 1.5 (B,D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) In recent meetings with new and returning members of
Parliament, PolCouns and PolOff were treated to a litany of
complaints about lack of job opportunities and the need for
continued USG economic support. While many MPs imply
corruption on the part of the Prime Minister, most thought
that he would not/not be replaced in an expected December
cabinet reshuffle. MPs stressed that widespread poverty and
unemployment were their most pressing and important issues.
This led to calls for greater U.S. financial assistance.
Lack of jobs, medical care and educational opportunities are
the most oft-repeated concerns raised by constituents who
sometimes go to extremes to pigeon-hole their
representatives. End summary.

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SUPPORT FOR THE KING, SNARLS FOR THE PRIME MINISTER
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2. (C) During the recently-concluded special session of the
14th Jordanian Parliament, PolCouns and PolOff met a broad
spectrum of members of the Lower House of Parliament (MPs) to
hear their opinions and to ask questions regarding the future
of the country. While individual views varied, several
recurrent themes surfaced with respect to domestic matters.


3. (C) All of the MPs voiced satisfaction with, and at
times praise for, King Abdullah and his vision for Jordan.
This strong support for the monarchy generally spilled over
into backing for the King's appointed government, as
reflected in the large margin of victory for the Cabinet in
the parliamentary vote of confidence (see ref a). This did
not extend, however, to current Prime Minister Ali Abul
Ragheb. Instead, MPs expressed personal dislike for Abu
Ragheb, with some implying that he was lining his pockets at
the expense of the people.


4. (C) Long-time MP and Parliamentary bloc leader Abdul
Karim Dughmi (East Banker, Mafraq),described the PM as a
"liar who promises to do something, six weeks later promises
again to do it, then six weeks later says he never discussed
the subject." He said that the PM had engaged in
"inappropriate" use of his government position to benefit his
family businesses. MP and former Amman Mayor Dr. Mamduh
al-Abbadi (East Banker, Amman 3rd District) and MP Dr. Odeh
Qawwas (Christian Palestinian, Amman 3rd District) also
expressed great discomfort with the PM's continued active
involvement in his businesses while in office. Several other
MPs expressed similar strong criticism of the PM's business
practices, but stopped short of directly accusing him of
corruption.


5. (C) Despite deep dissatisfaction with Abu Ragheb, few
MPs expected him to be replaced when the Parliament
reconvenes, most likely in early December, and a new
government announced. While a few ministers may be removed,
several MPs thought the King needs to leave Abul Ragheb in
place to defend the numerous temporary laws that his
government promulgated in the absence of Parliament (see ref
c). MP Mohammad al-Badri (East Banker, Aqaba) argued that
the King has a strong interest in seeing the temporary laws
approved, and a new PM would not be able to defend them as
well as the PM responsible for them in the first place.

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CAN YOU SPARE A DIME...OR ANOTHER BILLION DOLLARS?
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6. (C) Among the most frequent themes voiced by MPs was the
urgent need to reduce the widespread poverty and unemployment
in the Kingdom (Comment: translation -- find jobs for their
constituents. End Comment). While generally not blaming the
government's economic policies for this situation -) in
fact, we heard little criticism of ongoing economic reforms
-) the MPs warned that unemployment and lack of
opportunities were potential threats to stability and thus
should be a real concern for the U.S. MP Dr. Abdullah
Al-Jazi, (East Banker, Southern Badia),talked of the
severity of poverty in rural areas and how disaffected youths
without jobs are vulnerable to recruitment by extremists.
Since, he asserted, providing jobs for the people is clearly
in the interests of the both the U.S. and Jordan, al-Jazi
believed that the U.S. (in addition to wealthy Gulf states)
should step-up its economic aid levels. Mohammad
Al-Shawabkeh, (East Banker, Madaba) a first-time MP and
successful businessman, admitted that many Jordanians lack
the entrepreneurial spirit needed to get ahead, but he
nevertheless said the U.S. should continue to help its friend
and ally (i.e., Jordan) with greater financial assistance.
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EVERYBODY WANTS A FAVOR
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7. (C) Even though they have been in office barely three
months, several MPs were already beginning to show signs of
exasperation with the scores of constituents hounding them
for favors. Since many MPs do not have formal offices in
their home districts, constituents wanting help either seek
them out in the Parliament building in Amman or at their
private residences back home. MP Qaqish and MP Mohammad
Arsalan (Chechen, Zarqa) complained that they have to
continually change their mobile hone numbers to avoid 2:00
a.m. calls from desperate -- and discourteous --
constituents.


8. Mirroring the comments of many of his colleagues, Dr.
Mohammad Al-Badri and MP Marwan Sultan (East Banker, Amman
3rd District),said that a majority of their constituents ask
for jobs for themselves or family members. Second on the
list was free medical care, including the scheduling and
payment of costly operations, followed by educational
opportunities such as a guaranteed place in a university or a
scholarship for higher education.


9. (C) While Al-Badri seemed a bit overwhelmed by the volume
of favors requested ) during one lengthy lunch meeting his
mobile phone never ceased buzzing (not yet having adopted the
cell phone hopping of some of his colleagues) -) he
recognized that responding to his constituents was very
important. To illustrate this point, he told the story of
another MP from his district who lost the June elections to
an Islamic Action Front (IAF) candidate. Al-Badri credited
this defeat to the fact that the MP had become aloof and
removed from his constituents, while the IAF candidate
aggressively reached out to individuals during the election
campaign. Thus voters who did not support IAF ideology
nevertheless supported the IAF candidate as they saw him more
likely to grant them favors and listen directly to their
needs.

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NEW PARLIAMENT, BUT SAME OLD STORY?
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10. (C) MPs patted themselves on the back while describing
the 14th Parliament as younger and more educated than
previous bodies (see ref d). However, several veteran MPs
doubted whether this would translate into a new sense of
vigor and modernism in the Parliament. Ghaleb Al-Zubi,
three-time MP and chairman of the Legal Committee (East
Banker, Balqa),opined that a large majority in the current
Parliament appear motivated primarily by personal
self-interest, rather than a strong sense of service to their
country. This, he argued, poses a real obstacle to the
development of genuine political parties since past
Parliamentary experience has shown that individual MPs bolt
from loosely-organized blocs of MPs as soon as the
affiliation no longer serves their personal needs. MP Raed
Qaqish (Christian East Banker, Salt) said that personal
ambitions for leadership are already tearing at the fabric of
his "New Reformers Bloc."


11. (C) Zubi stated that MPs in the latest Parliament, like
their predecessors, often made decisions or comments without
any real knowledge of the subject. For example, in the case
of the temporary "khuloe" law permitting women to divorce
their husbands (see ref b),many MPs quickly condemned the
law as un-Islamic when, according to Zubi, Islamic scholars
from al-Azhar University in Cairo had expressly endorsed a
similar law in Egypt, and similar statues were found in other
Muslim countries. Opposition to other temporary laws, he
concluded, might be based on a desire to show that Parliament
is not a mere rubber-stamp for the government.

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COMMENT
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12. (C) While many of the MPs did complain about U.S.
foreign policy and other international concerns (septel),
most of their energy was reserved for domestic issues --
particularly poverty, unemployment, and pesky constituents,
again proving the adage that all politics is local.

Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page.
GNEHM