Jordan's Prime Minister Resigns Amid Protests Against Austerity

Major anti-government protests in Jordan led to the resignation of Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki and his cabinet after four nights of demonstrations in Amman and other cities. King Abdullah II summoned al-Mulki to the palace, where he tendered his resignation. Omar Razzaz, the education minister and a Harvard-educated economist, was appointed prime minister and will name a new cabinet. Protesters had blocked roads and burned tires while calling for the king to replace the government. Anger centered on continuous price hikes and a proposed income tax affecting people earning as little as $11,000 a year, described as the final burden in a broader austerity program during an economic crisis.

"Jordan's King Abdullah II summoned Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki to the palace, where Mulki tendered his resignation. Jordan's education minister Omar Razzaz, a Harvard-educated economist, has been appointed the new prime minister and will name a new cabinet. It will be up to him to defuse a crisis over a tax plan for Jordanians, the last straw in a long list of burdensome austerity measures imposed in the midst of the country's economic crisis."

"Late Sunday and early into Monday, several thousand Jordanians took to the streets in Amman and other cities, blocking roads, burning tires and calling on the king to replace the government. In Amman's upscale Shmeisani district, an estimated 2,000 protesters from all over the city gathered to try to make their way to the prime minister's office. Hundreds of riot police, arrayed in rows down the empty streets, blocked their way."

"After continuous price hikes on everything from bread to electricity, protesters said a proposed law that would levy income tax even on those making as little as $11,000 a year had pushed them over the edge. "This is the straw that broke the camel's back," said Hanadi Dweik, a children's tutor and former head of administration at a bank. She said even her middle-class family had trouble paying water and electricity bills."

""This government is leading the country to total chaos," she said. "They keep adding more taxes while we have no services. We don't even have a decent transportation system... It's enough. Enough is enough." Amid the protests, Dweikh argued with police as they tried to force the crowd to move back."

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