Prime Minister
Bisher Khasawneh’s government is not the only one to lose approval in public polls
after 200 days in office; the majority of governments witness the same trend,
with discrepancies in pessimism and optimism rates.
اضافة اعلان
It is natural for
public trust in the government to decline, and not at all surprising, and the
reason for that is that citizens have sensed no new improvements to the pains
they have struggled with under the previous government, as that is the
benchmark for progress or decline in the public’s trust of the government:
merely feeling improvement and positive change.
In addition to being
“unlucky” with the many issues that are out of its control, such as the water
shortage, Khasawneh’s government was struck with several heavy blows due to the
consequences of a deteriorating administrative status, which is leftover from
previous governments.
Khasawneh’s government
is today reaping the bitter fruits of what previous governments planted. The
Salt hospital tragedy is a living example of public administration
deterioration, and the loss of control over oxygen supplies is not an occurrence
confined to the hospital, but one that is entrenched in every division and
department in the public sector. And it might happen again at any public
institution, including those of transport, health, education, or any of the
other public sectors suffering from administrative inefficiency and a high
saturation of employees, who seem to have parachuted down to the public sector.
Unfortunately, the
government’s advances towards reform and change have been extremely limited.
The government is operating on a day-to-day basis, far from comprehensively
planning systematic work that sets objectives within a specific timeframe.
You get the feeling
that each minister works solo, with no coordination among Cabinet members,
which is evident in the performance of many ministers, who are today hiding
behind the
COVID-19 pandemic, which has served them well, as they are using it
as an excuse for not doing their job properly.
There are also the
Cabinet reshuffles, which total five now, with some only changing one portfolio
within short timeframes, which has left the public with the impression that
harmony is lacking between the members of the Cabinet. Glimpses of disputes
have also begun to surface, such as that between the ministers of labor and
investment for example.
The absence of an
economic vision and a clear national program for countering huge economic
challenges, along with the significant growth in negative indicators related to
unemployment and poverty, have contributed to the aggravation of the
government’s negative image and the decline of trust in its ability to face the
challenges. The general perception of the government is that it has limited, if
not non-existent momentum towards what is happening, while taking no initiative
to reach desired change, being often described by observers as a rigid
government.
Moreover, some of the
appointments were not met with welcome from the public, and even caused
discomfort, as the public saw that some of these appointments do not reflect
the criteria for competence and integrity that the government calls for, not
even in terms of appointment procedures, which also lacked transparency.
The rigidness of the
investment climate, and the government’s failure to take any steps on the
ground towards the legislative and structural reform of the investment
commission, along with key leading positions that are yet to be filled, some of
which have been vacant for more than two years, give the negative impression
that these jobs are either unimportant or there is actually no one worthy of
them. The issue also includes the relationship with the private sector, which
feels isolated from the government, and that its partnership with the public
sector does not go beyond its theoretical framework.
Khasawneh’s
government, which received unprecedented support, has remained hostage to
social media platforms, hiding behind the pandemic, which has created cover for
the many ministers that no one ever sees anymore.
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