on 23/1/2015, 1:13:45, in reply to "Jordan: Will the king’s attempts to curb Islamists backfire?"
: The UK based magazine has an interesting
: article.
I guess it will finally come down to how much of an influence the Islamists wield over Jordanian popular opinion. I suspect they are a very noisy minority in which case the king should be able to contain them so long as he retains the loyalty and support of the army and moderate public opinion in Jordan.
The article does hit on a marked difference between the king and his late father. King Abdullah is essentially a crowned general, a military man who tends to apply quick, no-nonsense military solutions to his problems and doesn't waste too much time arguing, negotiating and conciliating. Whether this is a stength or a weakness in the long term remains to be seen. King Hussein was a much more subtle and smooth operator who preferred concilation to action but who would nevertheless not hesitate to apply military solutions if all else had failed.
1
Message Thread
« Back to index