Opinion poll: Public confidence in al-Rawabdeh's government remains low
Jordan, Politics, 3/20/2000

An opinion poll carried out by the strategic studies center at the University of Jordan revealed that the government of Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Raouf al-Rawabdeh has kept low levels of popularity since last October and could not restore part of the backing it used to enjoy upon its formation just one year ago.

The opinion poll stressed that a large percentage of the Jordanian public opinion is no longer pinning great hopes on the ability of the government to withstand political and economic challenges in the coming phase in comparison with last year.

The poll, which was conducted among ordinary people, indicated that the government enjoys greater backing in the district of the north that doubles backing gained in the central and southern areas, which is seen by some as favoritism towards serving the interests of the north area from where the premier is from.

The senior researcher at the center, Mustafa al-Hamarenah, said the prime minister was able to halt the deterioration in his popularity which lasted since the formation of the government until October 1999, but since then al-Rawabdeh could not attract the public opinion towards his own interest.

Hamarenah added that the government's keeping a steady low profile of support from the Jordanians in the past five months is attributed to the control of the government of the mass media during that period and the quietness the Jordanian opposition committed itself to in honor of the new reign in Jordan (under King Abdullah II) and the sure desire among the Jordanians to back the king to succeed in leading the country in succession of his father, the late King Hussein.

Hamarenah stressed that the Jordanian government is "now relying on the popular credit entrusted in the king by the Jordanian public opinion."

The opinion poll also revealed that the decision taken by the government to expel the leaders of the Hamas resistance movement to Qatar had affected national unity, despite the fact that the Jordanian government succeeded in eliminating the political crisis that resulted from this measure.

The poll also revealed that there is a general feeling of non-confidence in the future as a result of the policies pursued by the government concerning Jordanian- Palestinian relations and the escalation of the economic crisis.

This recent opinion poll in Jordan confirms impressions prevailing the Jordanian public that economic reform is proceeding slowly while political reform is still static.

The poll which was circulated by the center on Sunday among journalists said that 23% and 30% of Jordanian citizens in the central and southern districts, respectively, believe that the government is able to shoulder its responsibility, in comparison with 49% in the north district who backed the government, a matter which reflects a great gap in the opinions between the two areas.

Previous Stories:
  Report: Disputes between al-Rawabdeh and al-Bateikhi   (3/8/2000)
  Al-Rawabdeh defends his government's performance   (3/1/2000)
  Al-Rawabdeh cleared on corruption   (2/17/2000)

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