MAJALI RALLIES HIS NEW POLITICAL PARTY, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002585 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2018 TAGS: PGOV KDEM JO SUBJECT: MAJALI RALLIES HIS NEW POLITICAL PARTY, AND CRITICS POUNCE REF: A. AMMAN 2337 ¶B. AMMAN 1446 ¶C. AMMAN 1139 ¶D. AMMAN 535 ¶E. 07 AMMAN 4885 Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The National Trend bloc of Lower House Speaker Abdulhadi Al-Majali is now well on the road to becoming a political party. Despite some last minute defections, the group has held its organizing conference and is currently drawing up the necessary paperwork to formally register as a party. Majali is already painting the party as a pro-establishment faction, but not necessarily one that follows the government's dictates. Critics pounced on Majali's opening speech to the organizing convention, faulting him for creating a party with no popular base and a thin ideology. Majali countered that it is too early to judge a party which does not yet formally exist. While Majali's detractors are essentially correct in their argument, the virulence of their attack demonstrates that the new party has the potential to influence the policy process. A Star Is Born? -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On August 23, Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament Abdulhadi Al-Majali convened an organizing conference which took the first steps towards transforming his National Trend bloc in parliament into a formal political party. Press reports say that between 3,000 and 5,000 people were on hand for the initial meeting of the party, during which sub-committees were formed to draw up bylaws and a program. Contacts tell us that members of Majali's parliamentary bloc are the core members of these committees, and will serve as the prime movers in shaping the new party's ethos. The party is set to reconvene in September, presumably before the start of the October session of parliament, to formally launch the party and file the necessary paperwork. ¶3. (SBU) Just days before the organizing conference took place, ten members of Majali's parliamentary bloc allegedly declared their intention to remain independent rather than join the new party. This embarrassing development was quickly denied by Majali supporters, who accused unnamed parties of trying to sow confusion and derail the formation of the party. Majali himself called the story a "hasty interpretation" and predicted that the supposed defections would soon be eclipsed by the rise of a functioning, strong, and popular party. On September 3, however, eight of the deputies announced the formation of a new parliamentary bloc (although not a party) called the "National Bloc". ¶4. (C) During an August 27 courtesy call by the Ambassador, Majali called the group a "legislative party" for the time being. He also admitted that the registration process may take longer than it is being portrayed in the media, saying that amassing the required paperwork and constructing the party's bylaws could take as long as six months. Glimmers of Ideology -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In a speech to his assembled supporters, Majali attempted to address the perception that his new party represented merely a government-organized alternative to the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood (JMB) and its political wing, the Islamic Action Front (IAF). Saying that the party "is not aimed at confronting anybody...but establishes loyalty to the country and the crown," Majali attempted to demonstrate that there is at least some distance between himself and Jordan's government. He also noted that the party would "personify the genuine desire for establishing a large, comprehensive, centrist political party that fulfills the ambition of the silent majority and their leaning towards rebuilding the widespread popular base for the Jordanian state." Tit For Tat -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In a highly critical August 25 opinion piece in moderate daily Al-Ghad, JOURNALIST Mohammed Abu Rumman took Majali to task, asserting that the popularity of the state should not be the concern of a political party. "The party's objectives lie in presenting a viewpoint and a version of political and economic policies in the event that it comes into power... The idea (of political parties) is that individuals get together on the basis of a vision, not get AMMAN 00002585 002 OF 002 together and then formulate a platform! (State parties) have been proven by history to be absolute failures, not to mention the disastrous effect they have on the relationship between the ruling system and the society in such countries." ¶7. (SBU) Majali's rebuttal, relying heavily on ad hominem attacks against Abu Rumman, appeared the next day in Al-Ghad. Saying that "no newspaper or writer has any right to judge the Trend's future status," Majali countered that "any party in its foundation phase remains unknown until it reveals a vision, which (Abu Rumman) judged before the party declared its principals or reached a final accord." On the subject of the IAF, Majali acknowledged that Jordan has "embraced the Muslim Brotherhood for decades," and posited that the party is "seeking to reach an understanding with the IAF and other parties to maintain stability and prosperity in our country." Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) As reported in reftels, Majali faces an uphill rhetorical battle, as his avowedly pro-government political party faces skepticism from a populace naturally suspicious of parties and highly critical of the government's economic policies. Majali's long list of political enemies is also a factor. Furthermore, despite the avowed desire of the government and the palace to see strengthened parties in Jordan, the security services' tolerance for independent political activity, even of a pro-government nature, is by no means certain (ref D). Yet the criticism of Majali suggests that his new party is already advancing what must be one of its primary goals: relevance. While he is building his party from the top down, without evidence of a grassroots base or the promise of one in the future, Majali is betting that, with (to date) GOJ encouragement of his efforts, voters will fall in behind his actions rather than the critics' words. Beecroft