A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Monday, June 13, 2011

Jordanian King Makes Major Concession, One of These Days

 I'm really not sure if this is good news or bad news; King ‘Abdullah II of Jordan has agreed to a major demand of the opposition: a Parliamentary system under which the Prime Minister and Cabinet will be chosen by the elective Parliament, not by the King. That's been a major demand of protesters and is pretty much what defines a constitutional monarchy. He made the announcement, and the promise, but didn't set a time frame for fear of  "chaos." That's the bad news part.

A few months ago, the Moroccan King made similar promises. OK, your majesties, if you're really the "enlightened" monarchs you want us to think you are, let's deliver on these promises. They're where you start, not where you finish.

1 comment:

Tim said...

Wasn't this precisely the sort of dangerous move that the British with help from their American cousins helped the then monarch avoid back in the 1950's.