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Jordan’s political elite warn of more protests if reforms are ignored

Jordanians are pinning high hopes on the Omar Razzaz government, but failure to meet expectations could trigger wider public protests.
Jordan's Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz speaks during a news conference in Amman, Jordan June 19, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RC18D9F74540

Jordan’s political elite have one main question on their minds: Will newly appointed Prime Minister Omar Razzaz be allowed to carry out his promise to strike a new social contract between citizens and the state?

There are mounting concerns that the so-called deep state has failed to take in the lessons of the May 30 popular protests that succeeded in bringing down the government of Hani al-Mulki a week later. What tens of thousands of protesters were calling for was not limited to annulling the income tax draft law that was sent to parliament or sacking the government for overburdening citizens with taxes, but a complete and substantial change in running the affairs of the state. This is what the likes of former Prime Minister Taher al-Masri and former Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher have underlined separately recently.

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