jordan pulse -
Dr. Mahmoud Awad Al-Dabbas
The results of a public opinion poll conducted by the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan were released on Thursday, 16 January 2025, marking 100 days since the formation of Prime Minister Dr. Jaafar Hassan's government on 18 September 2024. These findings, in my opinion, passed without the in-depth discussion necessary to interpret the public's perspective and to think about achieving positive outcomes.
The main result, according to the national sample, was that the popularity of Prime Minister Dr. Jaafar Hassan surpassed that of his ministers. The trust in the Prime Minister's performance stood at 55%, compared to 47% for his ministers. Overall, trust in the government's performance as a whole reached 51%.
Regarding the House of Representatives, trust in its performance was only 32%, while trust in the institution of Parliament itself stood at a mere 25%. Furthermore, satisfaction with the election law under which the last elections were held was just 34%. The perception of political parties was equally bleak, with only 29% expressing satisfaction with their performance during the last parliamentary elections, and trust in political parties was an even lower 19%.
Analysis of Results
1. Government Popularity:
The consistent trend in opinion polls regarding prime ministers shows that trust in their performance typically starts at around 50-60% and is higher than that of their ministers and the government as a whole. Over successive polls, this trust usually declines. For Dr. Jaafar Hassan's government, the survey revealed a decline in trust since its formation: the Prime Minister dropped from 57% to 55%, ministers from 50% to 47%, and the government overall from 54% to 51%.
2. Parliament and Parties:
Public trust in the House of Representatives remains low, hovering slightly above or below 30% in recent polls, despite high expectations following transparent elections and the allocation of 41 parliamentary seats to political parties via a national electoral district. These results indicate that the new partisan representation has yet to make a meaningful impact in Parliament.
The survey also confirms that the general public remains sceptical of political parties, as reflected by the low trust in their performance. This suggests that party politics are seen more as superficial structures rather than genuine representations of public needs, despite thousands joining the partisan experience.