US embassy cable - 03AMMAN8286

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 008286 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, KISL, KDEM, PHUM, ECON, JO 
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT SPEAKER ON ISLAMISTS, NEW GOVERNMENT, 
AND AGENDA FOR REGULAR SESSION 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 8225 
     B. AMMAN 8196 
     C. AMMAN 7909 
 
Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b) (d) 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  (C) Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Al-Majali predicted to 
the Ambassador that "a good majority" would vote to approve 
the government of Prime Minister Fayez and pledged to 
cooperate with the government to implement King Abdullah's 
calls for political development.  He denied public 
allegations that he made concessions to Islamists to gain 
their support for Speaker and said that engaging with 
moderates within the Islamic Action Front (IAF) would 
marginalize its more extreme elements.  Majali espoused plans 
to amend parliamentary by-laws to limit debate and speed up 
passage of pending provisional laws.  He remained wary, 
however, of proposals to raise taxes or increase prices of 
subsidized commodities.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------- 
"MODERATE" ISLAMISTS 
-------------------- 
 
2.  (C) The Ambassador and PolOff met the newly elected 
Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Abdul Hadi 
Al-Majali, December 16 to congratulate him on his position 
and to inquire about the regular session of Parliament (which 
commenced December 1).  Majali almost immediately told the 
Ambassador that reports alleging he had made a concessionary 
deal with the Islamists to gain their backing for Speaker 
(see refs a, b) were "all untrue."  Majali stated that while 
he had reached an agreement with the IAF, this understanding 
related to administrative issues and general principles on 
the role of Parliament, not controversial political topics. 
 
 
3.  (C) Majali defended his rapport with the IAF, asserting 
that by engaging with the group's moderate members, he was 
empowering them at the expense of more extremist elements. 
Majali asserted that 13-14 of Islamist MPs were well-educated 
and reasonable, including prominent IAF MP Azzam Al-Hnaidi 
(West Banker, Amman - 2nd District) who he deemed "a decent 
guy."  "If we try to include them, they will cooperate," said 
Majali.  IAF "old school" hard-liners such as Mohammed Abu 
Fares (West Banker, Amman - 5th District) were not 
representative of the current Islamic bloc, Majali opined, 
and had limited influence.  Majali concluded that he was "not 
worried" about the IAF and that he would not allow them to 
get too far out of line.  "I'll let them talk, but when the 
time for voting comes, they will get nothing," he stated, 
referring to IAF attempts to push forward their more radical 
agenda items.  (COMMENT:  The New York Times quoted 
"moderate" IAF MP Hnaidi after Saddam's capture as saying 
"Saddam was a symbol of defiance to the U.S. plans in the 
region.  And we support any person who stands in the face of 
American dominance" - see ref c.  END COMMENT.) 
 
----------------------------- 
PRAISE FOR THE PRIME MINISTER 
----------------------------- 
 
4.  (C) Asked about the new government, Majali praised Prime 
Minister Faisal Al-Fayez as a "good man" who was "well-liked 
and honest."  He said that Fayez had "changed the atmosphere" 
of Jordanian politics through his expansive dialogue efforts, 
especially with those who opposed the previous government. 
Majali hoped that Fayez would continue such dialogue as this 
would aid in implementing King Abdullah's priorities for the 
country. 
 
5.  (C) Majali said that the Lower House would start debate 
on a vote of confidence in Fayez's government on December 19, 
which Majali hoped to wrap up by the end of Monday evening, 
December 22.  (NOTE: Post considers this as too optimistic an 
assessment, given that 109 of the 110 MPs spoke during nearly 
two weeks of debate leading up to the vote of confidence in 
former PM Abul Ragheb's government last summer.  END NOTE.) 
He predicted that "a good majority" of MPs would support 
Fayez at the end of the debate.  Majali cautioned, however, 
that while Fayez enjoyed wide approval amongst MPs at this 
time, "we will judge him on how he implements his promises." 
 
--------------------------- 
A NEW WAY OF DOING BUSINESS 
--------------------------- 
 
6.  (C) Majali admitted that it would be very difficult for 
Parliament to take action on the large backlog of provisional 
laws, promulgated during Parliament's long absence, during 
the regular session under current by-laws.  Accordingly, he 
is seeking to gain majority support in the Lower House to 
change the by-laws so that all proposed amendments/changes to 
provisional laws must first be submitted in writing to the 
appropriate reviewing committee before they can be debated 
openly in the regular session.  If such amendments are not 
first submitted to the committee, then they will not be 
allowed for discussion on the Lower House floor.  Majali 
opined that this by-law change would cut the time needed to 
address the provisional laws "in half." 
 
7.  (C) Majali further contended that many of the temporary 
laws were very short and non-controversial, and thus could be 
approved quite readily.  He was in discussions with the 
government over which provisional laws to move on first, and 
also expected to meet with King Abdullah and Queen Rania 
regarding Parliament's legislative agenda.  Majali had 
already talked with the Queen about ensuring approval of laws 
affecting women's rights. 
 
8.  (C)  To strengthen Parliament, Majali proposed bringing 
in independent experts to advise the 14 standing committees. 
He had recently secured the services of ex-Central Bank 
officials, for example, to provide advice for the Financial 
Committee.  Majali boasted of gains in efforts to computerize 
operations in Parliament and said that MPs are being given 
training on computer use, the Internet, and even how to type. 
 Some MPs are now bringing laptops to the Lower House chamber 
during session, although cell phone use is prohibited (with 
compliance ensured by signal jamming equipment).  Majali also 
requested USG-funded "study visits" by MPs to the United 
States. 
 
---------------------------- 
SUPPORT FOR POLITICAL REFORM 
---------------------------- 
 
9.  (C) Majali was fully on board with the King's call for 
political reforms, saying that "We can be the best model in 
the Arab world."  He strongly agreed on the need for genuine 
political parties, although he cautioned that these should be 
based on programs and specific platforms, rather than just 
ideology.  Majali contended that roughly 80% of politicians 
and activists in Jordan were "centrists" or "nationalists," 
while only 20 percent were part of the opposition (e.g., 
Islamists, Communists, etc.).  However, Majali lamented that 
this 80 percent was woefully unorganized in comparison to the 
opposition, which gave the opposition more power than their 
numbers warranted. 
 
10.  (C) Majali admitted that previous government calls for 
political development went mostly unheeded, but opined that 
"this time will be different."  The fact that the King had 
come out so strongly and publicly meant that this was now a 
true priority.  "The King's credibility may be damaged if we 
don't move," Majali stated.  He planned to have weekly 
meetings with the chairmen of all parliamentary blocs to 
coordinate agendas and help push through the King's political 
reforms. 
 
------------- 
MONEY MATTERS 
------------- 
 
11.  (C) When asked about the government budget, Majali said 
it would be sent to the newly-selected Finance Committee 
shortly and then discussed in the Lower House about three 
weeks later.  He hoped that each bloc would select only one 
or two people to debate the budget on the chamber floor, but 
conceded that this might not be possible. 
 
12.  (C) While Majali didn't summarily reject tax increases, 
he said that the current system of tax collection was "very 
bad" and the focus should first be on improving this system, 
rather than raising taxes.  Majali was also wary of possible 
price hikes on subsidized commodities.  He contended that 
several ministries were wasting money and that government 
expenses could be brought down through various reforms.  Per 
capita spending on health care, he claimed, was higher than 
in Japan and could be reduced by combining the different 
hospital systems into one administration to provide 
centralized purchasing, training, etc.  Nevertheless, he 
concluded, "If the government convinces us that its money is 
being well spent, then we will support its requests." 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
13.  (C)  Majali was confident and forward-looking throughout 
the meeting.  However, some of his planned parliamentary 
reforms -- especially quick confidence and budget votes, 
streamlining discussion of amendments, and enhancing the role 
of committees -- will meet opposition from MPs who may feel 
excluded.  With 109 other MPs to contend with, we doubt that 
Majali's efforts to reform Parliament will come to pass quite 
as he described them. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
 
or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET 
home page. 
GNEHM