Saving the throne

"The belated arrival of cash from Gulf monarchs anxious to prop up one of their shakier peers may have helped. Jordanian newspapers heralded $200m from Saudi Arabia to support the budget along with another $300m for various projects. This may delay the lifting of electricity subsidies that Jordan has promised the IMF. That, after recent rises in the price of water, petrol, cooking fuel and food, might—feared the government—have pushed Jordan’s poor masses over the edge. For the moment they seem a bit calmer again."