Jordan's leaders lack true will

Adnan Khalifa Amman - Osama al-Rantissi Vice chairman of Jordan's People's Democratic Party (PDP) Adnan Khalifa believes the political reforms are hindered due to unfavourable regional conditions and the rulers’ unwillingness to go through with reforms. In an exclusive interview with Arabstoday, Khalifa spoke about the recent political conflict in his country, the Arab Spring's influence on Jordan, the problems facing the Palestinian reconciliation and the Syrian crisis. Arabstoday: As an experienced politician in Jordan, what do you think is the reason for this constant failure of political reforms? Adnan Khalifa: The most important reason for this issue is firstly the lack of a true will from the ruling regime to achieve these reforms. Then, there is an unfavourable climate for the reforms to go through as the state authorities in Jordan fear they might lose power. We can see that all the changes made by the regime were only in the officials' names, but the policies always remained the same. I can think of a third reason; the lack of unity among the Jordanian opposition, which failed to agree on a unified vision for what should be done in the country. If they had a united vision they should have been able to exert a much stronger pressure on the regime. AT: Can you see the Arab Spring arriving soon in Jordan? AK: Actually Jordan has been already affected by the Arab Spring, and anyone can feel how the people have become much stronger and the protests became more frequent, however, we didn't see the same results in Jordan as we saw in other countries like Egypt and Tunisia, mainly because the demographic and social nature of Jordan. This divided nature makes everybody scared of how a significant change will affect them. We also can't undermine that many powerful figures and families in the country have built their wealth and power under the current rules, so they are expected to firmly resist change and reforms. On the other hand, the opposition movement failed to keep a strong stance for the protests unlike other Arab countries, where the protests grew stronger and angrier every day until the people achieved what they wanted. In the early days of the Arab Spring the regime looked as if it was ready to allow change to happen, yet after the state's top officials saw that the Jordanian opposition was not as powerful as they feared, they decided to step back and keep everything as it was. I see this as an unwise decision, which may cause more tension among the people, and eventually lead to an outrage that they will not be able to control. AT: What to you think about the Jordanian electoral system? Why both regimes and the conservative groups in Jordan insist on keeping it as it is? AK: Needless to say this law is widely rejected among the people because it gave us disappointing results. The opposition believes that a law based on proportional representation is the best for Jordan. We agreed to allow 50 percent of the seats for the individual voters and the other 50 percent for the proportional lists, but unfortunately the regime didn't listen. The current law will never allow founding governments based on political majorities because all the candidates are elected individually. AT: Do you fear that the Islamists will steal the fruits of the Arab Spring? AK: First I must say that the Islamists didn't play a very big role in this revolution. Of course, they made some contribution but the Arab Spring was the result of a very broad movement of the Arab people. We also have to remember that the Islamists in both Egypt and Tunisia wouldn't have been able to reach power except by being part of a broad coalition of the pro-democracy fronts. It is a shame they quickly started to undermine their allies. I am sure that if they are going to keep this attitude and ignore the true goals of the people's uprising, the people will not allow them to stay in power for long. AT: In your opinion, what is the true reason behind the failure of the Palestinian reconciliation? AK: Going straight to the point, Hamas and Fatah are interested in nothing but their own interests. They’re both waiting for regional and international development to play in their favour, which is why they are not interested in an agreement at this stage. I really can't understand Hamas' position. They offer a solution based on establishing a government led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and the following day they accuse him of treason and call him an illegitimate president! AT: What can you forecast for Syria? Is there any possible solution for the crisis there? AK: I'm sad to see that the situation in Syria has reached this miserable point where this great country is being destroyed by its own people. There would have been a chance of a peaceful solution if the regime had decided to meet the people's aspiration in a democratic change instead of oppressing them. Any conflict must end eventually with a political solution, but as every day passes this solution seems further away. But we are against any foreign intervention in Syria because it will only complicate the crisis even more and will lead to more victims and destruction. I'm also very worried about the recent sectarian rifts in this country which I think will be very difficult to get over in the future.