US embassy cable - 05AMMAN3551

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003551 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, MARR, EFIN, PTER, JO 
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION TO NEW CABINET IN PARLIAMENT REMAINS 
FIRM 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 03252 
 
     B. AMMAN 2973 
     C. AMMAN 2969 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C)  Opposition to King Abdullah's new reform cabinet 
continues to grow.  Rumor mongers point to the cabinet's many 
reformist ministers and conclude the U.S. must have pressured 
the King to appoint them.  PM Badran is proceeding with his 
public and private outreach efforts to shore up support for 
his cabinet.  Generally positive meetings with political 
party leaders and the Jordan Bar Association were followed by 
a much more contentious meeting with 45 traditionalist MPs 
who remained firm in their demand that Badran get rid of his 
economic team (headed by Finance Minister Bassam Awadallah). 
Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali predicted a very rough 
road ahead for the Badran cabinet, which could slow down 
legislation of interest to us, including ratification of the 
article 98 agreement and the improved anti-money laundering 
law.  End Summary. 
 
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PM SEEKS OUT ALLIES 
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2.  (U) In an effort to drum up support for his beleaguered 
cabinet, PM Badran has continued his campaign of meetings 
with prominent Jordanians (ref A).  On April 27, for example, 
he met with another group of political party leaders, saying 
that parties were the "cornerstone" of the country's 
political development process.  He further pledged to 
reconsider the poorly-received draft law on political parties 
submitted by the previous government.  The following day, 
Badran met with Jordan Bar Association president Saleh 
Armouti and members of the association's Islamist-dominated 
board of directors.  Armouti described the meeting to 
reporters as "positive and warm," and expressed appreciation 
for the new government's efforts to enhance cooperation with 
civil society institutions.  According to the press, Badran 
reiterated in the meeting that his cabinet was committed to 
implementing political reform and was open to revising a 
controversial bill that would alter regulation of 
professional associations (a parliamentary committee is 
reviewing it at present).  On April 31, Badran told a 
gathering of journalists that he was prepared to reshuffle 
his cabinet if necessary to include ministers from the south 
of the country.  While maintaining that geographic 
representation was not a constitutional requirement, he 
nonetheless recognized it as a "political norm" that he was 
unable to adhere to when forming the government due to "time 
limitations." 
 
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MPs STAND FIRM 
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3.  (C) Badran's greatest challenge remains winning over the 
growing number of traditionalist MPs (numbering 45 of the 
lower chamber's 110 deputies) who have publicly pledged to 
withhold their votes of confidence in the new government.  In 
a May 3 meeting with these MPs that was described as "hot and 
stormy," MP contacts report that Badran did his best to take 
a conciliatory position.  He assured the MPs that he had 
taken note of their concerns, promised to try to resolve 
their complaints, and asked that they evaluate his government 
based on its programs and plans, rather than on its 
composition.  The MPs were not appeased.  One after another, 
they demanded that Badran either resign as PM or reshuffle 
the cabinet to sack its economic team, led by Finance 
Minister Bassam Awadallah, on the grounds that these 
ministers were "proven failures" and hopelessly out of touch 
with the plight of "real Jordanians."  MP Bassam Haddadin 
(Christian East Banker, Zarqa) also took a swipe at Badran's 
reformist credentials, complaining that Badran had not 
expressed any ideas on political reform, but was instead 
"hiding" behind ideas to come from a "velvet committee" 
(i.e., the National Agenda commission). 
 
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THE SPEAKER SPEAKS 
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4.  (C) In a private discussion on May 1 with Charge, Lower 
House Speaker Abdul Hadi al-Majali (East Banker, Kerak) 
ticked off the motives for the strong opposition to the 
cabinet.  First, it had gone against deeply ingrained 
tradition by omitting a minister from Kerak, a "pillar" of 
the country (along with Salt and Irbid).  The fact that it 
did not include anyone from the rural Badia only made matters 
worse.  Second, Badran's appointment from seemingly out of 
nowhere was a surprise that made advance consultation with 
MPs (which did not happen) even more imperative.  Third, MPs 
loathed Bassem Awadallah for his perceived disdain of 
legislative oversight; they saw his appointment as a slap in 
the face of parliament as an institution.  Salah Bashir 
(former Justice Minister and now Minister for Government 
Performance) was also a lightning rod for criticism because 
of his alleged disrespectful behavior toward MPs.  Fourth, 
widespread belief that the U.S. applied pressure on King 
Abdullah during his most recent trip to Washington to create 
the current reform government had aroused considerable 
resentment among MPs. 
 
5.  (C) Majali also criticized Badran for having no program 
or agenda, just headlines in the newspapers.  He noted that 
the cabinet had promised to implement the National Agenda to 
be announced later this year, but asked "what is the 
government's platform in the meantime?"  Majali recommended 
that the government hold off on a summer vote of confidence 
in parliament (which would require an extraordinary session) 
as long as possible, probably until July, so that it could 
address MPs' concerns.  Majali told reporters on May 3 that 
it would be "difficult to control the Lower House" during an 
extraordinary session if the government tried to exclude a 
vote of confidence from the session agenda. 
 
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COMMENT 
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6.  (C) PM Badran has little room to maneuver in the face of 
entrenched opposition by traditionalists to his cabinet. 
Appointing new ministers from the south might dispel some 
complaints, but it could be interpreted as a sign of weakness 
while failing to satisfy demands for Awadallah's ouster. 
Courting the support of the Islamists, including the Islamic 
Action Front (IAF), to circumvent the traditionalists remains 
an option, but carries associated political risks (ref A). 
Several of the best informed ministers, and targets of the 
MPs' ire, such as Bassam Awadallah and Marwan Muasher, see a 
simple solution:  since they accuse outgoing GID chief Saad 
Khayr of whipping up the opposition, it is up to Khayr to 
turn it off again.  No matter what course of action Badran 
takes, resentment against alleged U.S. meddling in the 
cabinet selection process could hinder quick action on our 
legislative priorities in parliament (e.g., passage of an 
anti-money laundering law and ratification of the article 98 
agreement). 
 
7.  (U) Minimize considered. 
HALE