THE GUARDIAN: Criticism comes at a difficult time for the monarchy, whose authority has been sapped by growing political unrestIn an unprecedented move the leaders of Jordan's main Bedouin tribes have published an open letter addressed to King Abdullah II accusing his wife, Queen Rania, of corruption. The text, released on 5 February, is signed by 36 representatives of the main Bedouin tribes. It comes at a particularly difficult time for the king, whose authority has been sapped by the growing discontent voiced by demonstrators.
On 9 February the recently appointed prime minister, Marouf Bakhit, announced a new cabinet including several leftwing figures and an Islamist. But this timid opening seems unlikely to end the unrest.
Until now the monarchy had managed to play on the opposition's instinctive loyalty. "It is not the king who is to blame," Hamza Mansour, the secretary-general of the Islamic Action Front (the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood), recently told Le Monde, "but the clique surrounding him." The outlook seems even more uncertain now that the tribes have added their voice to the tide of criticism. >>> Laurent Zecchini | Tuesday, February 15, 2011
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