Over aweek since former Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) governor Fares Sharaf tendered his resignation, the debate over the sudden departure continues to rage in the press and on the streets.
While the circumstances surrounding Sharaf's resignation are still shrouded in mystery, its impact is having a visible impact on the public debate.
Left with few satisfactory answers and many questions, analysts said citizens' doubts risk turning what began as an internal dispute into a wider political crisis over authority, economic policy and the independence of public institutions.
War of words
Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit insisted that the reasons behind Sharaf's departure were purely philosophical and not personal - noting that the CBJ governor's "liberal" free market policies were at odds with government economic programmes seeking to widen social services and promote local development.
In a rebuttal the same day, Sharaf offered few clues as to the exact nature of his dismissal, noting that only after reading reports on news websites and with the arrival of security services at the doors of the Central Bank did he know for sure that his 10-month reign as governor had come to a premature end.
Denying that he acted unilaterally or undermined the government's economic policies, Sharaf indicated that he came under undue pressure to step down and resigned only to protect the Central Bank's independence.
The subsequent resignation of Sharaf's mother, Senator Laila Sharaf, over a lack of serious reform added fuel to the fire - with various rumours circulating on the street.
A lack of clear answers to the nature of Sharaf's departure has damaged public confidence in the government, according to columnist and political observer Hassan Barari.
"No matter who you believe, it is bad for Jordan to have this scuffle out in public," Barari said.
The war of words has pitted the premier against a man associated with fighting corruption in a climate where citizens' trust in the government's handling of public funds is at historic lows.
"I think this is a lopsided match - and in the end the clear loser will be Bakhit," he added.
More than personal differences, Sharaf's departure signals a wider institutional struggle over economic policy, with the CBJ concerned with fiscal discipline and the government preoccupied with the social and political ramifications of its decisions, according to economist and former minister Jawad Anani.
"You have the governor asking for fiscal discipline and trying to keep the debt ceiling within the accepted limits on one side while the other is worrying about people accepting price hikes and modified subsidies," he said.
Facing popular pressure in the streets, the government has been hard pressed to take measures seen as alleviating poverty, while debt-conscious moves called for by the CBJ such as raising taxes or cutting back on government hiring and expenditure are simply not on the table, Anani added.
"In the current climate, the prime minister is in no mood to listen to that," he noted.
According to Anani, Sharaf's dismissal was not without precedent. Previous governor Khalil Salem was transferred from the Central Bank to what was then known as the National Planning Council in the 1970s, while Mohammed Nabulsi was effectively dismissed in the mid-1980s by then-prime minister Zaid Rifai, he said.
Early departures are where the similarities end - both governors had served extended terms in their post and neither of their dismissals came under the threat of physical intervention, Anani pointed out.
While the premier and the former CBJ governor may have clashed over economic policies, the stark differences in ideology Bakhit described fails to ring true with observers.
Bakhit's current Cabinet features several free-market "liberals", continuing in a line of technocrats who have overseen the Kingdom's economic liberalisation during the past decade, they pointed out.
Analysts said the "liberal label" hits even closer to home - a bulk of progressive economic reforms and sale of state lands were in fact carried out under Bakhit's first term as premier between 2005 and 2007.
"Considering that the biggest privatisation deals in the country were done during the first government of Bakhit, it is really ironic that he is taking a stance against liberal policies," said Batir Wardam, Ad Dustour columnist and political observer.
"If being liberal is grounds for dismissal, then the prime minister will have to dismiss half of his own Cabinet," Barari noted.
Independence
The fallout over Sharaf's departure has reverberated beyond the relationship between the government and the Central Bank and threatens the very independence of public institutions themselves, analysts warned.
"The Central Bank of Jordan, the Anti-Corruption Commission, all of these public agencies must be independent authorities in order to have any effectiveness," said Basem Sakijha, Ad Dustour columnist and observer.
"Because of this action, people in these institutions are now asking themselves, if Fares Sharaf cannot be in control, who is?"
With Sharaf's replacement, the government is sending conflicting messages by allegedly expanding the reach of executive authority at a time when the Lower House is considering constitutional amendments designed to curb it, according to observers.
"If the prime minister can install whomever he wants, then many of these laws and regulations are suddenly meaningless on the ground," Sakijha charged.
By undermining the authority of an independent agency, the government risks going back on its reform pledges, Al Rai columnist Khaled Mahadeen said.
"At a time of regional change when people across the region are talking about building institutions, this government is seen as tearing them down," he charged.
The real losers in the Bakhit-Sharaf row are average taxpayers who lack the proper information to take an informed stance on the government's alleged actions and policies, analysts said.
"People at the end of the day are only hearing rumours and they are unsure of what to believe," Wardam noted.
Such a reliance on rumours places a burden of doubt on the government and highlights an issue of transparency in the decision-making process, a situation observers said plays into the hands of the Islamist-led opposition.
"This issue gives ammunition for the opposition that the government is not dealing with corruption seriously or working in a transparent manner," Wardam said.
There are already signs that the opposition has taken up the cause.
Within two days of Sharaf's departure, the Muslim Brotherhood posted an open letter to Bakhit demanding a "full disclosure" of the reasons behind his replacement, while the former CBJ governor's name could be heard in last Friday's pro-reform demonstrations stretching from Tafileh to Irbid.
As the controversy over Sharaf's resignation goes into its second week and questions continue to mount, analysts said one thing has become clear in the court of public opinion.
"People are going to take a much closer look at this government's economic track record," Wardam said.
"The room for mistakes has gotten much smaller."
© Jordan Times 2011
