The uneasy crown

Still plucky, but more nasty'A TRUE triumph of progress over regression,' claimed King Abdullah, boasting about Jordan's elections from the UN podium in New York on September 20th, the day his kingdom went to the polls. Many Jordanians thought otherwise. Despite a relentless public-information campaign and the participation of the pro-Islamist Muslim Brotherhood for the first time in nine years, turnout slumped to a dismal 37%, down from 56% at the election before. In parts of Amman, the capital, barely one in five of those eligible to vote bothered to cast a ballot.The low turnout is a sign that many people saw the elections as a waste of time. The king swiftly reappointed the same unelected cabinet with only a few minor alterations, and since then has proceeded to push through a host of decrees. Wise but unpopular decisions to buy gas from Israel and to revise the school curriculum by removing troublesome Koranic verses were issued as decrees.Ever since it was fashioned by Britain after the first world war, Jordan has served as a pro-Western outpost and a buffer keeping its petulant neighbours at bay. But...Continue reading
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