Jordanian local newspapers have all published heated articles complaining about the government’s decision regarding winter time (maintaining GMT+3 instead of GMT+2). They also rejoiced the great public's victory of obliging the government to reverse its decision and go back to winter time on December 19th. The Prime Minister Abdalla Al Nsur said in the parliament’s opening session on Wednesday that the government received the parliament’s request regarding this issue adding that he was impressed with the parliamentarians’ civilized attitude and approach, which, as he said, was exactly the democratic way of doing things. There will be great costs resulting from this decision he explained, but since the government is committed to respecting the opinion of its citizens, it will shoulder the expenses*. What a victory, what a social movement, what a potent parliament, what a strong voice, and what an ability to cause drastic changes in policies as per the public’s request and vision. What is surprising however is that in the parliamentary session on Sunday December 1st, members of the this robust parliament decided to walk out without giving their vote of confidence on the cabinet as was expected, deciding to postpone this minor issue after the 2014 budget is passed (thanks to a petition signed by 57 members). So far there has been little feedback from major news portals on the passiveness of the parliament and the motives behind this decision, but it does not really matter, we Jordanians are still in the festive mood after getting our way on the winter time war. The public’s demand is not being ridiculed (forgiveness if it does sound otherwise), as all of us Jordanians understand the dire economic conditions in which many fellow citizens live in, and what an extra hour of sunshine in the morning would mean in respect to availability of morning hot water and tolerable weather conditions as children walk to school. When a European country decides to change into winter time, children don’t have to worry about waking up in an igloo-like house, washing up in cold water, or walking in pitch darkness down unsafe roads. The extra hour of sunlight would be used for recreational purposes, visiting parks and enjoying a somehow warmer/sunnier afternoon. Sadly, the situation in Jordan is not so, and hence the demands to reverse the government’s decision. Nonetheless, this rejoice may perhaps be an indication of underlying anger, one related to a sense of helplessness and complete lack of public control over public policies. When are Jordanians consulted on anything? When was the last referendum held on any issue? How are economic, social and political concerns taken into account? How effective is the parliament in its duty in representing the people’s will? What is the extent of the control it exerts on executive decisions? Did it ever control any of these decisions? Can we safely judge that this jolliness of parliamentarians and the public is somehow linked to a sense of “finally, our voice is heard on something…anything”? That the parliament did in fact practice its role as a legislator and a speaker for the people?
Someone once said that “Cynicism is humour in ill health”. Accurate description of Jordanian politics. Fixating
on minor issues while ignoring bigger causes and the root of problems will
never help us (Jordanians) acheive political development and enhance the concept
of democracy, public participation and accountability. To highlight the victory
of time change and ignore the issue of confidence vote is a betrayal to all attempts
in developing our political system and the sacrifice made by activists and partisans
throughout history. When our Constitution was drafted in 1952 and included an
article (53) on the confidence vote, parties, activists and political figures in the
country who fought for this change since the 1920s (through national conferences,
demostractions and demands on modifications of the 1947 constitution) felt a
sense of relief and acheivment. The parliament actually exercised this right as early as the 1950s and
had enough integrity to face the storm and accept to have the parliament dissolved
because of its defiance to the government and its loyalty to its public responsibility
(example: the third parliament elected in 1951 was dissolved on June 22nd
1954 prior to the voting session as premier Tawfiq Abu Al Huda learned that
some members were planning to block the confidence vote). They pushed for amendments
and managed to even get the vote of confidence blocked by a majority of the parliamente (1954
modification) instead of two thirds (original version of 1952), an
achievement that may sound minimal at the moment but had a great impact on the
flow of events back in the fifties and the sixties. Nowadays, when this right
is granted, and when the government is fully under the legislative’s
control, it is being marginalized and somehow belittled. Our parliament
(or part of it) is feeding the public false victories on minor issues while
giving away its right of policy control, the right we all entrusted in these
members. To conclude, we should thank our parliament for our not-so-cold-or-dark
mornings, although we sadly do remain in the dark.
*Please note that the government will shoulder expenses via the treasury,
not the piggy bank of any official.
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