OPPOSITION ATTACKS GOJ MINISTERS, POLICIES AS NEW

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000389

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2013
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON KDEM JO
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION ATTACKS GOJ MINISTERS, POLICIES AS NEW
POLITICAL SPACE OPENS: HOW LONG CAN IT LAST?

REF: A. AMMAN 304


B. AMMAN 381

C. 03 AMMAN 8605

D. AMMAN 350

Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b) (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (S) Recent royal and government statements encouraging
greater political openness have led to new and more open
public and private debate on important public policy issues,
including school curriculum reform, contemplated price
increases, and government spending on social programs. The
debate has also produced allegations of corruption against
ministers and the former PM, and these allegations have begun
to touch on the Palace in private conversations. While most
GOJ officials have expressed only irritation with these
developments up to now, the increasing volume of public
criticism and its increasing inferences to the King could
prompt some in the GOJ to consider constricting the newly
opened political space. END SUMMARY.

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JORDAN BEGINS A "SILLY SEASON?"
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2. (C) Statements by King Abdullah, PM Faisal al-Fayez, and
other GOJ ministers in the new, reform-minded cabinet
encouraging greater political openness and dialogue on
national issues have met with some success. Since the
beginning of the regular session of Parliament on December 1,
there has been lively (and often irresponsible) public and
press discussion of public policy issues, including
curriculum reform (ref a),revision of the military pension
law, and a call from a group of MPs to abrogate Jordan's
treaty with Israel (ref b). Private conversations with MPs
and senators indicate that other government programs and
reforms may come under similar scrutiny in the coming months,
especially proposed government price hikes on petroleum
products and pharmaceuticals, privatization of large state
industries, and priorities for social spending and the Social
and Economic Transformation Program (SETP). Most Embassy
contacts believe that the swift proliferation of topics of
debate (particularly on domestic and governance issues) and
the sharp increase in frequency and volume of criticism of
government programs is indicative of a new, larger political
space.

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RIFE WITH (ALLEGATIONS OF) CORRUPTION
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3. (S) While this more vigorous debate and the increased
political space is a positive development, it has definite
down sides for the GOJ. For example, there have been direct
and public charges of corruption against Planning Minister
Bassam Awadallah and former PM Ali Abul Ragheb (refs c and
d). MP Abdullah Akaileh (East Banker, Tafileh, former member
of the Islamic Action Front),during the December 2003 debate
on confidence in the new government, openly accused Awadallah
of corruption. When pressed by PolCouns January 13 on the
specifics of his allegations, Akaileh said he believes
Awadallah has paid off journalists to write positive stories
about him, and expressed doubts about the propriety of
spending in Awadallah's SETP, claiming that much of the money
was being used for "handouts" rather than social development.
He claimed that he would lead a parliamentary request for
full disclosure of all money spent to date on the program.


4. (S) Akaileh also attacked Awadallah's personality,
describing him as arrogant, fast-talking, and a person "with
no idea what goes on in a Jordanian village" (a veiled
reference to Awadallah's Palestinian origin and Western
orientation.) Akaileh also accused Communications and
Information Technology Minister Fawwaz Zoubi of nepotism
(promoting his sister in law to a senior rank in the
ministry). Other MPs also leveled allegations of corruption
against immediate past PM Ali Abul Ragheb, and threatened to
open a parliamentary inquiry. Abul Ragheb was forced to call
on the Parliament speaker and state publicly that he had no
objection to such an inquiry, after an ill-advised TV
interview in which he admitted to what amounted to minor
offenses just as he denied allegations of major ones.


5. (S) In private, several MPs and NGO activists have begun
to criticize the King directly. One East Bank tribal MP told
PolCouns recently that the King had chosen a fractious
government that would never win the confidence of average
Jordanians, and that he should correct this mistake by
appointing a new government "with the proper political base"
(i.e. political and tribal figures without a technocratic
background). More disturbing for the Palace are growing
private expressions of concern over the King's continued
confidence in controversial figures like Awadallah against
whom there have been (widely believed) allegations of
corruption, and whispers of Palace involvement with less than
reputable business deals.

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HOW LONG CAN IT LAST?
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6. (C) Most Jordanians have reacted to the wider bounds for
public debate with cautious optimism. One NGO head told PAO
and PolCouns that he would initiate new democracy programs
"to fill the new political space." All the MPs and senators
with whom we have spoken told us they felt more free to
express criticism of the government in public, and several
pledged to continue to press the envelope of permissible
public expression. (One added that she hoped the debate
would remain polite and based on provable facts, not
emotional outbursts).


7. (C) Some remain skeptical. MP Abdullah Akaileh
described the recent expansion of freedom of expression in
the context of a historical cycle of expansion and
contraction of political space that began under King Hussein.
He expected the current tolerant government attitude to last
no more than a year or two. A former MP dismissed the new
debate as transitory, and declared that she would refrain
from pushing the envelope in public to avoid what she
expected would be political retribution from the government
in the future.


8. (S) Many in the government are beginning to express
irritation at the increased level (and personal nature) of
the criticism. Finance Minister Abu Hammour told the
Ambassador that, when he had suggested in a cabinet meeting
that the government welcome a parliamentary investigation of
the government's financial practices, Awadallah reacted
angrily and threatened to resign rather than face the
indignity of such an inquiry.

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COMMENT
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9. (S) Although open criticism of the royal family remains
taboo, the recent expansion of political space in Jordan
seems to be real, and has resulted in public debate on public
policies -- including education and pension reform -- that
had received little such attention in the past. It remains
to be seen, however, whether the newly expanded boundaries of
expression are here to stay.


10. (S) The GOJ's less-than-forthcoming initial responses
to the curriculum reform debate (ref a) and corruption
allegations indicate that many in the government -- even
among "reformers" -- are not used to dealing with public
criticism or composing convincing arguments to support their
policies. Thus far, senior GOJ officials have expressed only
irritation at the criticisms, but it is unclear whether they
will be able to gird themselves for the long haul. The
danger in the quick expansion of public debate and the
allegations against senior officials (and, by implication,
the King) is that some may conclude that Jordan is not yet
ready for "responsible democracy" and press to rein in public
dialogue.

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GNEHM