US embassy cable - 05AMMAN5848

UNCLAS AMMAN 005848 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, JO 
SUBJECT: BADRAN GOVERNMENT WINS VOTE OF CONFIDENCE 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 5624 
     B. AMMAN 5626 
 
1.  (C)  A week of heated debate in the lower house of 
Parliament in response to PM Badran's opening policy 
statement resulted in a vote of confidence for the Badran 
government on July 21.  With 66 votes in favor, 39 against, 
and 6 absentions, the debate will now turn to more than 30 
agenda items slated for discussion during the remaining week 
of the extraordinary session of parliament. 
 
2.  (C)  Members of Parliament took turns addressing Badran's 
policy statement of July 14, which highlighted nearly a dozen 
major priorities for his government, some more concrete than 
others.  Chief among them is improving citizens' living 
standards and fighting poverty and unemployment.  He also 
said his government must "pay full attention" to education 
and training systems to ensure graduates meet the demands of 
the job market.  A third priority is to develop and 
strengthen the governorates and districts in accordance with 
recommendations of government's decentralization plans. 
Fourth, the government must work to strengthen national unity 
by "consolidating and strengthening the domestic front" in 
the face of regional challenges.  Badran also committed the 
government to enriching political and intellectual pluralism 
by promoting freedoms "without conditions other than 
responsibility, without rules other than abidance by the 
national interest, and without ceilings other than the law 
and the constitution."  Badran vowed to combat all forms of 
corruption.  A seventh agenda item involves strengthening 
partnership between the various sectors of society, 
particularly the government and civil society. Noting the 
important contributions of the professional associations, he 
said that the government had circulated a memo to all 
ministries and departments encouraging them to include 
professional association members on committees and 
commissions.  Eight, the government must support the armed 
forces and security services.  Ninth, Badran committed his 
government to strengthening and modernizing the judiciary. 
Tenth, Jordan must reduce dependence on foreign funding by 
developing local revenues, rationalizing public expenditure 
and restructuring the general budget to make it "more 
flexible, responsive to economic changes, and more capable of 
facing potential foreign shock."  Finally, Badran highlighted 
the importance of attracting foreign investment to Jordan. 
 
3.  (C)  Deputies did not hold back their criticism of the 
PM's statement.  The government's reform agenda, its decision 
to increase fuel prices, and corruption were central to the 
deputies' complaints as they took the floor.  several 
deputies criticized the government's reform plans, describing 
them as too slow and inefficient.  "Reform has gone backward 
in the very era of reform," MP Abdul Rahim Malhas (Amman-3rd 
District) declared on July 17, adding that the government's 
reform agenda "is purely media rhetoric to appease those who 
want, for their own interests, changes in our situation." 
Malhas declared his intention during his speech to withhold 
his vote of confidence for the new cabinet. 
 
4.  (U)  Speaking on behalf of the Islamic Action Front bloc, 
MP Abdul Majid Khawaldeh (Mafraq) questioned the government's 
commitment to political reform.  He complained that 
university students are still not allowed to elect freely the 
officers of their unions.  He also called on the government 
to repeal the controversial law limiting the political 
activities of the professional associations.  In contrast, 
two other IAF deputies commended the government's economic 
austerity measures, but insisted they be implemented fully. 
Another MP from Mafraq, Fayez Shdeifat, called for the 
removal of the provision in the Constitution which permits 
the dissolution of parliament, as well as a limit to the 
government's power to issue temporary laws. 
 
5.  (C)  Comment:  The vote is relief for Badran and his 
ministers.  However, this government is not out of the woods 
yet.  It can expect more tough debates in parliament and 
increased pressure to make good on its wide-ranging promises. 
  With the vote out of the way, the parliament can now begin 
deliberating on its more than 30 agenda items (refs), but it 
is unlikely it will complete its work before the 
extraordinary session ends.  Normally, such sessions last 
approximately four weeks, but the King ultimately decides 
when it will conclude.  Charge has been told the session will 
wrap up on July 28, thus leaving any unfinished agenda items 
for the regular session, unlikely to begin before 
November. 
 
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. 
HALE