June 10, 2007
Public Confidence in Government Declining - Poll
By Khalid Neimat

AMMAN — Public confidence in the government’s performance has dropped over the past year-and-a-half due to its perceived inability to tackle unemployment, poverty and declining living standards, a national poll revealed on Sunday.

The survey, conducted by University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS), found that 20 per cent of citizens believed that the government has failed to shoulder its responsibilities, compared to 16.2 per cent in the previous poll.

The poll is the latest in a series that seeks to measure the initial expectations of the government among public and opinion leaders, followed by their assessment after a set time in office.

CSS pollster Mohammad Masri said the survey, conducted between May 30 and June 3, showed a “declining confidence in the government,” which he described as a worrisome trend.

“The confidence gap between the public and the government is likely to expand in the coming years, unless there are concrete solutions to the basic problems facing the country,” he said.

The poll revealed that unemployment, poverty, rising prices and declining living standards are the most important problems facing Jordan.

The official poverty rate is around 15 per cent, with unemployment at 14 per cent. Unofficial rates, however, put both figures as high as 30 per cent.

“The three most important problems facing the country are of an economic nature, which indicates a decline in living conditions of respondents from both categories,” the survey said.

The national poll, made up of 983 respondents from the general public, revealed that 33.5 per cent believed their living standards had declined over the past three years, while the percentage among opinion leaders was 35.6 per cent.

Opinion leaders include former officials, journalists, businessmen, academics and other professionals.

In all, 44 per cent of citizens said their families’ living conditions had remained unchanged, while among opinion leaders, the figure was 36.4 per cent.

Only 22.1 per cent of citizens said their living conditions had improved.

On the positive side, the poll found that opinion leaders had a more upbeat assessment of the government’s performance than in November 2005 when it took up office.

At that time, only 26 per cent of opinion leaders predicted the government would be able to “shoulder its responsibility.” Now this percentage has slightly risen to 28 per cent.

Meanwhile, the survey also said the government had been successful in tackling some issues, including increasing health insurance coverage, speeding up the privatisation programme, supporting the Iraqi people, managing the country’s tourism projects and combating terrorism.

The poll showed no significant difference between the evaluations of the current Cabinet and that of the previous five governments.