Dahabi government retains same level of public confidence after 100 days in office

By Mohammad Ben Hussein

AMMAN - The government of Prime Minister Nader Dahabi maintained the same level of public confidence since its formation, despite dissatisfaction with measures addressing some challenges, according to the findings of a poll released Monday.

The poll, conducted by the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) 100 days after the appointment of the Dahabi Cabinet, found that 62 per cent of respondents in the general public sample believe that the government was capable of shouldering its responsibilities.

This rate is equal to the results of an earlier survey conducted immediately after the government took office in November, according to the poll.

CSS surveys conducted at the time of the formation of any new government usually show higher public optimism than those conducted after 100 days in office, pollsters note.

But confidence in the current government’s abilities to tackle issues of public concern was significantly lower.

According to the CSS survey, only 36 per cent of the general public believe the government is able to control high prices.

In general, the public believe the government failed in handling some issues outlined in the Letter of Designation, including the fight against all forms of corruption, entrenching equal opportunities among citizens, speeding up the country’s recently announced nuclear programme and efforts to address unemployment and poverty.

In November’s Letter of Designation, Dahabi’s government was tasked with addressing economic challenges resulting basically from a growing budget deficit and foreign debts.

CSS pollster Mohammad Masri believes the manner in which the government packaged recent measures to lift subsidies on fuel and other commodities played in its favour.

The “contradiction” between the relatively low percentage of confidence in the government vis-à-vis its ability to handle specific issues and the generally high confidence in the current Cabinet can be attributed to a number of reasons, according to Masri.

The researcher cited as examples the decision to raise salaries of civil servants, a recently announced plan to build 120,000 housing units by 2013 under a nationwide initiative and the manner in which the government handled the recent increases in prices.

“The government was successful in communicating to the public that it had no choice but to take this painful decision,” Masri said.

The poll, which the CSS has been conducting for 15 years, periodically gauges confidence of the general public and opinion leaders in the performance of governments.

The survey targets two groups: the general public and opinion leaders, including politicians, intellectuals, academicians and professionals.

As many as 959 respondents took part in the poll, with only 41 refusing to answer pollsters. The poll had a 3 per cent margin of error.

Of the opinion leaders, 66 per cent said the government will be able to shoulder its responsibilities.

The highest scores were given by leading economists, professional association leaders and university professors, while political party leaders gave relatively lower grades.

The study also revealed that 54.7 per cent of respondents in the national sample said their economic conditions deteriorated over the past three years, compared to 12.9 per cent who said their situation improved and 31.9 per cent who said their economic situation was stable.

Out of opinion leaders, 49.6 per cent said their condition worsened and 28.9 per cent said their living standards remained unchanged, while 22.3 per cent said their economic situation improved.