Education blog

Political analysts said Thursday Jordan’s cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday was “surprising”, saying it was necessary to restore the government’s popularity that was ” harmed” following a series of crises caused by some outgoing ministers.

The analysts believe that the cabinet reshuffle was a face- saving measure after the government came under heavy fire recently from different sectors of the society including teachers, judges, day-laborers, students and parents following several crises by some outgoing ministers.

The analysts said these crises started to affect the government, which, according to a poll early July, remained popular 200 days after its formation.

The poll, conducted by the University of Jordan’s Center for Strategic Studies (CSS), showed that 64 percent of the public expressing confidence in Prime Minister Samir Rifai and his team.

In the survey, 60 percent of total respondents in the national sample said the government had been able to handle its responsibilities so far, which represented an important jump from the 52 percent of respondents who said so in a poll conducted in March, 100 days after the government was formed.

“The government shake-up was crucial following several crises that some outgoing ministers caused, thus negatively affecting the popularity and the image of the government,” political analyst Fahed Khitan said in an article published in Al Arab Al Yawm daily Thursday.

The analyst said Rifai, who on Wednesday replaced ministers of tourism, education, agriculture, justice, labor and information, sought to defuse the crises caused by several ministers.

“The replacement of ministers of education, agriculture and justice proves that the crises they caused represented a heavy burden on the shoulders of the government,” political analyst and a columnist at Ad Dustour daily Maher Abu Teir said Thursday.

“The replacement of the ministers that caused crises became a demand by the public. Many of the outgoing ministers weakened the popularity of the government, the reshuffle was welcomed and received with a sign of relief,” Mohammad Abu Rumman, a political analyst At Al Ghad daily, said Thursday.