The size of the national sample was 1317 respondents. The sample size for the public opinion leaders was 677 respondents, who were distributed across eight categories, as shown in Table 1 below. The aim of this poll is to measure the attitudes of Jordanians and their expectations from the cabinet of Mr. Faisal Al Fayez and its ability to endure the responsibilities of the coming era. Additionally, the poll measured respondents’ evaluation of the relationship between the legislative and executive authority and whether the principle of competence is applied in filling job openings in the private and public sectors in Jordan. Finally, the poll measured perception of the goal of the political retreat which the government held when it was formed.
Table 1: Distribution of Public Opinion Leaders Sample by category
|
Category |
Completed interviews |
Refused to respond |
Total |
|
Business class |
73 |
23 |
100 |
|
Political party leaders |
96 |
4 |
100 |
|
Professionals |
76 |
24 |
100 |
|
Writers, Journalists and artists |
81 |
19 |
100 |
|
Professional associations and labor union leaders |
88 |
12 |
100 |
|
High ranking (former and current) state officials |
83 |
17 |
100 |
|
University professors |
80 |
20 |
100 |
|
University students |
100 |
00 |
100 |
|
Total |
677 |
123 |
800 |
When the outcomes of this survey are compared to the outcomes of its predecessors (speaking here about all the ones CSS conducted previously) concerning the expectations from the government, we notice a gradual decrease, which apparent in the percentage of the respondents who believe that the government will be successful in the coming period (meaning after the formation of each government) “to a large extent”. This decrease can be put in contrast with the clear increase in the percentage of the respondents who believe that the government “will not succeed” in shouldering its responsibilities, as shown in attached charts 1 and 2. This shows that there is a trust gap which is increasingly growing between the citizens and the cabinets since 1996.
The increase in the gap may be a result of the belief held by many citizens that the successive governments have not decreased poverty, unemployment and corruption effectively. In addition, the answers of 79% of all respondents show that citizens’ living standards have not improved in the last three years (despite the fact that the official numbers indicate a positive economic growth of 4% in the GDP with consistent prices in the last three years). The results also show that the percentage of those who have benefited from growth (i.e. who said that the economic situation of their families has improved) over the last three years is 13% of all citizens, while 83% of the political opinion leaders reported that the standard of living of citizens has not improved over the past three years.
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