JORDAN’S PM QUITS AFTER PROTESTS

▶ Move follows continuing protests against tax and austerity measures

Jordan’s Prime Minister Hani Mulki resigned yesterday after nationwide protests against increased austerity measures.

The embattled Mr Mulki was summoned to a meeting with King Abdullah II after four days of anti-government demonstrations, which had called on the premier to resign.

King Abdullah accepted Mr Mulki’s resignation and asked Education Minister Omar Al Razzaz to form a new government.

But activists vowed to keep protesting until the new government agreed to overturn austerity measures.

Across the country, thousands of Jordanians have protested against planned tax measures in what were the largest demonstrations in Jordan since 2011.

The immediate cause of public anger was a proposed law that would expand the tax base by lowering the income tax threshold. Currently only 3 per cent of Jordanians pay income tax, according to The Economist.

The proposed law, which was backed by the International Monetary Fund, followed austerity measures earlier in the year that doubled the price of bread and pushed up fuel costs.

Sales tax was also levied on hundreds of everyday goods ranging from internet subscriptions to electricity, and from soft drinks to stationery.

The reforms have been called painful but necessary in a country struggling to rein in its deficit. Nine per cent of Jordan’s gross domestic product is spent on subsidies and the debt to GDP ratio is more than 95 per cent.

But with unemployment above 18 per cent and poverty levels rising, the measures have gradually stirred widespread public anger.

“The government has made us penniless,” protesters chanted in the streets of Amman over the weekend. “They have left us with no more money in our pockets.”

King Abdullah called a meeting of the National Policies Council on Saturday night and later sought to reassure Jordanians that he empathised with their situation.

“I know how much Jordanians have endured,” he told the Petra state news agency.

“We are working day and night to overcome this difficult situation.”

Jordanians welcomed Mr Mulki’s resignation on social media but said more needed to be done to change government policies.

“Changing faces is not important for us, as much as changing the approach,” one Twitter user wrote.

Amateur footage from the demonstrations has been widely shared across social media, showing that the protests so far have remained largely peaceful.

But neighbour Syria’s ongoing civil war is a constant reminder to Jordan’s leadership of the potential for demonstrations to get out of hand.

Protesters praised the police for their disciplined behaviour at demonstrations so far, Jordan’s largest privately owned newspaper Al Ghad reported.

Minor clashes with police have occurred in some areas, with protesters blocking roads and burning tyres. The head of Jordan’s Public Security Department said 60 protesters had been arrested so far for rioting and vandalism.

Mr Mulki, a business-friendly politician, was appointed in May 2016 and given the responsibility of resuscitating a flatlined economy and reviving business confidence that had been dented by continuing regional turmoil.

Mr Al Razzaz, who has been given the task of forming a new government, is a former World Bank economist.

It is not yet clear whether Mr Mulki’s resignation will quell public anger, and some analysts have questioned whether it will improve Jordan’s situation.

Changing faces is not important for us as much as changing the approach TWITTER USER