82% of Jordanians polled by YouGov Siraj, believe King Abdallah made the right decision to dissolve parliament and appoint a new Prime Minister. 33% believe the King made the decision because of parliament’s failure to improve legislation and tackle the country’s major issues (40%).
According to YouGov Siraj’s latest poll, although 41% think Nader Dahabi’s government performed moderately during its two years in office, 40% of the Jordanian public feels it did not perform well.
Despite support for the dissolution of parliament, there is a widely held belief the changes will not improve life in Jordan. Almost half of those polled (48%) believe the economic and financial situation in Jordan will either not change or will deteriorate over the next twelve months.
Iman Annab, CEO, YouGov Siraj commented, “The numbers are giving us strong indications that the public is not confident that the change in ministerial leadership will in fact bring any noticeable change to the economy, and indeed improve day to day life.”
In terms of choice of leadership, slightly over half of respondents (52%) are satisfied with the King’s decision, while 26% are indifferent citing they are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with his choice to appoint Samir Rifai as new Prime Minister.
A further 14% feel they do not know or cannot give an explanation for this appointment.
When asked about their opinion about the qualifications of the new Prime Minister in this role, 43% of the public respond that Samir Rifai is somewhat qualified to be appointed as Prime Minister of Jordan. A further 22% feel that he is extremely qualified against a small percentage of people (9%) who feel that he is not the appropriate candidate for this role.
Over one quarter (26%) of the Jordanian public however do not know or cannot say.
“The responses show that a significant part of the of the Jordanian public do not feel engaged with the parliamentary process, nor are acquainted well enough with Samir Rifai’s background and experience in a leadership role. This ambiguity works against building unequivocal confidence that the new ministry will lead change,” Mrs. Annab concluded.
38% of the public think Samir Rifai was chosen by the King to become Prime Minister because he comes from a family of politicians and just 13% believe his experience qualifies him to occupy the position. More optimistically, 34% think his financial background and experience will help him in improving the economy.
As such, 39% of Jordanians polled believe the new government will be successful in dealing with the economic and financial situation of Jordan, and this will improve in the next 12 months. Conversely, 34% of the public see little change ahead, with 14% saying the situation will deteriorate in the future
The poll surveyed 337 individuals in Jordan between 20- 24 December 2009.
