King of Jordan

"The conversation, at a private home by request, was about politics. What did these Bedouins of the Zubeidi clan, a backbone of Jordan’s monarchy, think about the current instability in light of events in Egypt and Tunisia?  The answers began as scripted recitals: “We have absolute loyalty to the Hashemites,” referring to the royal family; “We will never allow instability”; “No Jordanian will ever negotiate against this regime.” But once lunch appeared — huge platters of rice and lamb, eaten by hand, standing — everything changed.  “We are living a big lie,” one sheik whispered. “This king is hopeless,” said another. “The security police called us up and told us not to meet with you,” said a third. “But we have tongues and we will speak.”...Queen Rania, of Palestinian origin, is viewed as glamorous, sophisticated, and widely admired abroad. She has come in for particular criticism, accused of controlling court appointments and funneling business to her family. But mostly she is said to be insensitive to her subjects.  Last summer the queen turned 40 and threw herself a party in the hauntingly beautiful area of southern Jordan known as Wadi Rum. She invited 600 people, paying the way for many from abroad. The pink granite hills of Wadi Rum were electrically lighted with the number 40 — in a poor area where some people live without electricity. Water, a precious commodity there, was used by the truckload.  It looked to many people like the party that the shah of Iran threw at Persepolis for the country’s birthday,” said Randa Habib, a writer and analyst in Jordan’s capital, Amman. The king, who just turned 49, has absolute power here, and advocates of reform increasingly say they want him to become a constitutional monarch, a symbol of the state but not in charge of it. The prime minister would be elected, not appointed. While it is hard to gauge how widespread this view is, it is heard from both Palestinians and East Bankers."