After months of political turbulence, intervened to put Jordan's political powers back on the reform track. Oula Farawati in Amman analyses the king's moves During the Eid Al-Fitr recess, accepted the resignation of his controversial reform advisor and Royal Court Chief Bassem Awadallah, putting an end to months of strife in Jordan's political circles. The king appointed what has been described as a "conciliatory figure" -- the long-time politician Nasser Lawzi -- as head of the "Diwan" in an attempt to put the country back on the reform track, according to analysts. Political struggles have marked the past few years in Jordan. Recently those skirmishes moved to media circles, which in turn, took sides and started firing volleys back-and-forth. Analysts saw this as destabilising and distracting Jordan from a much-needed reform programme the king embarked on after ascending the throne in 1999. Awadallah, a reform-oriented scholar, represented the liberal faction, working on economic openness and reform programmes seen by the Jordanian public as the reason for the country's economic hardships. On the other side, stood the conservatives made up mostly of government figures upset that the young royal court chief was usurping heir economic powers and using a technocrat government team to carry out what the Diwan chief and his team want to accomplish. "This [struggle] has affected the credibility of the king's reform programmes," veteran Jordanian journalist Rana Sabbagh wrote in Al-Hayat Daily. "But this does not mean a retreat from the country's modernisation that consecutive governments were tasked to do by clear and direct royal directives," she added. Jordan never witnessed such a debate involving the Diwan, which has always been a link between the king, the government and the people. But according to Al-Sijill political weekly, consecutive governments' failure to translate the king's directives into action led to the Diwan chief taking over most of the government's economic tasks. Al-Sijill quoted a high-ranking royal court official as saying that the situation between Jordan's different political and economic powers got so tense that reform programmes were affected. "In the past, when Awadallah was forced to resign his finance minister position, this was seen as a sacrifice to keep reform going. But reform is hostage to Awadallah now," he told the leftist weekly, requesting anonymity. It was Awadallah's course of action that earned him so many enemies in the government and other major Jordanian power circles, analysts believe. "The problem is that Awadallah was a solo player, who wanted to carry out economic reforms without guaranteeing government and public support," one senior political analyst said. "The young economist's deep beliefs in economic reforms as a way to achieve political stability and his wide horizon and susceptibility to quick change collided with governments' bureaucracy and slow action. He just couldn't wait, and that's how they ambushed him," he added. Awadallah was often seen as a tool for applying the king's vision. In 2005, the king accepted his resignation as finance minister. The young reformist was soon appointed as director of the king's office and then head of the "Diwan", which houses the king's hands-on team. Now reform political and economic advancement programmes will be assigned to the government, led by chief Nader Dahabi, a veteran economic reform commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zones, a successful brain child of the king. "Dahabi now works in a convenient atmosphere under big royal support. He proved in one year a good ability to run the economic file and won support due to his clear course of action," Sabbagh wrote. Not only he is supported by the king, Al-Sijill reported. Dahabi receives support from his brother, who has been efficiently leading Jordan's General Intelligence Department. Lawzi's appointment as head of the "Diwan" is seen as putting the right cube in the game to guarantee a smooth course of action and harmony between all the leading powers in the country. "Lawzi will succeed if he translates the royal visions into action and then hands things over to the government for execution, instead of carrying out things himself," one businessman who worked in the government for many years told Al-Sijill. Analysts, however, see this as posing a big challenge to the government, which lobbied to take back its responsibilities and powers. "The government is now put to the test. No lagging behind, tardiness or corruption is allowed. This is how they either exploit the challenging opportunity, or fail the royal test," the analyst said.
