US embassy cable - 03AMMAN6281

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