Jordan Times
Sunday, June 19, 2005
'Reshuffle depends on King-MPs meetings'
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh
AMMAN — A senior official on Saturday said an expected Cabinet reshuffle will depend on the outcome of meetings between His Majesty King Abdullah and parliamentary blocs.
King Abdullah is to begin today a series of meetings with deputies to discuss political and socio-economic issues as well as the impasse between the government and a group of deputies over the Cabinet's formation.
Prime Minister Adnan Badran will follow up on the King's meetings and will base the expected reshuffle on the outcome of the talks, according to Minister of Culture and Government Spokesperson Asma Khader.
"Badran's meetings with the deputies top his priorities now. The meetings will enhance dialogue between the executive and legislative authorities," Khader told The Jordan Times.
Today, the King is to meet with members of the National Parliamentary Action Front and New Reformists. He will later meet with National Democratic Coalition, Shaab, Watan, Islamic Action Front, Democratic Alliance, National Front and independent MPs.
The Monarch's talks with the lawmakers are expected to end the deadlock between the government and around 49 deputies, who signed a petition in April, mainly protesting the formation of Cabinet's economic team and threatening a no-confidence vote. The team was led by former Finance Minister Bassem Awadallah, who resigned on Thursday, when the King told Badran in a letter to choose "those who have the capability to translate visions of reform into tangible reality that serves the national interest."
"The resignation has become the new reality of the political scene. I think Awadallah had to pay the price and pave the way for the reshuffle," said Mustafa Hamarneh, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan.
On Thursday, some of the 49 deputies said Awadallah's resignation was a "positive step," expected to defuse the tension with the government and pave the way for a vote of confidence when Parliament reconvenes for an extraordinary session. Other deputies, however, demanded the dismissal of the entire economic team.
"The resignation was a political exit for the impasse between both sides," said Al Ghad columnist Samih Maaytah. But he thought that the "limited" reshuffle "would not have "a qualitative change or effect."
Local dailies said Saturday Badran already started consultations with potential candidates for positions within the government. The reports expected the reshuffle to take place before the weekend, bringing in at least four new ministers and splitting up combined ministries such as the Ministry for Parliamentary Affairs and Political Development and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and Scientific Research.
But Khader said the newspapers were "merely speculating."