Monday, 30 May 2016

Ahmad Abu-Khalil

With the exception of news related to his official job and duties, Prime Minister-designate Hani al-Mulki did not have noticeable (intensive) presence in the local media. It is true that his last assignment before the designation, which lasted for a year and a half, as chief commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, enjoyed a certain degree of media attention in view of some problems that had emerged there before his appointment and continued afterwards. However, this media attention was confined to the scope of news about the "farthest" city from the capital, especially in relation to affairs of the port and issues of labor, laborers, and investors in it.

Only a month ago, Dr. al-Mulki told the media that "those who promote me as prime minister do not want me in Aqaba," in a reference to problems that he had told journalists about, although the media archive, especially on electronic sites, contains material that had defended him in the face of his opponents in Aqaba, such as: Who Is Targeting the Aqaba Authority Chief? Hani al-Mulki Leads Reform Revolution Against Violators in Aqaba.

As news of the designation broke, some media outlets hastened to look for a format to introduce the prime minister-designate to their readers. The following observations are based on the first 24 hours after the designation:

Wikipedia provides some information about the biography of Dr. al-Mulki. Also, the site of the Senate provides a similar short biography. This information was used by numerous media outlets.  However, this somewhat official information is not deemed sufficient in such cases. Therefore, some media outlets were quick to offer material that is more responsive to the expected demand. One of them published a clear headline, saying: "Full Origin and Descent of al-Mulki," in which it provided highlights of the biography of the father of the prime minister-designate, the late prime minister in 1953-1954. Another item asked: "Will Son Repeat Experience of Father? It provided a more detailed biography of the late Fawzi al-Mulki, which was published almost a year and a half ago on the 53d anniversary of the death of Fawzi al-Mulki, who died in early 1962 when his son, Hani, was 11 years old.

The fact that the prime minister-designate is the son of a former prime minister was a point of attraction for many media items although 62 years have passed since al-Mulki Sr. was prime minister. One electronic site published a news item under the headline: Scenario of Sons of Officials Gets Repeated. Another site dug up a press item that was published when the father formed his cabinet in 1953 under the headline: "Will al-Mulki Form Government From the Opposition?"

We monitored one short item headlined "What Makes Hani al-Mulki Special and How Is His Personality? It quotes people close to al-Mulki as saying that he had a strong and bold personality. They also testified that the man "has never cajoled anyone. He cares about public service for the benefit of Jordanian citizens. He has always rejected wasta (pulling strings) by MPs. He does not hesitate to make decisions." Another item published the following headline: "Poor of Jordan Celebrate Ensour"s Departure; al-Mulki Designated To Form Cabinet."  

The most sensational headline, politically speaking, was copied by some local media outlets from the London-based Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper, which published a news item to the effect that al-Mulki was the one who developed the notion of the "Shiite Crescent" in 2004, and that designating him to form the government was a message of rapprochement with Saudi Arabia. Other sites sought to highlight al-Mulki"s relationship with Israel. One of them wrote a piece under the headline "Warm Relationship," which included references to the link between the prime minister-designate and the file of negotiations with Israel and later meetings with Israeli officials, along with a picture of al-Mulki shaking hands with former Israeli Prime Minister Sharon.

Printed Press

What characterizes items that are published in the printed press is that they took sufficient time for editing and proofreading. Therefore, they are supposed to reflect the attitudes of newspapers toward this political step.

Al Dustour newspaper published the news of al-Mulki"s designation and Ensour"s resignation in a largely official format, copied mostly from the official news agency (Petra), while it expanded on covering and analyzing news about dissolving the Lower House of Parliament and the next elections. Regarding the prime minister-designate, it published a short item headlined "Al-Mulki: Third Prime Minister Whose Father Formed Government in History of Kingdom." Thus, the newspaper did not create a certain impression or adopt a position toward the new formation.

Although Al Rai newspaper publishes news in the official format, it provided more detailed press material of the person of the new prime minister under the headline "Al-Mulki, Statesman and Veteran Before Heavy Responsibilities and Files." It also dedicated its editorial "Our Opinion" to the formation decision.

Al Sabeel newspaper devoted greater coverage to the news about dissolving the Lower House of Parliament and published photos of some details of MPs leaving the House. Regarding the prime minister-designate, it published, along with the official news story, a press item on expectations concerning consultations to form the new cabinet.

The newspaper that highlighted the designation the most was Al Ghad. Its banner headline was: "Al-Mulki"s Government: Political Mission With Economic Flavor." It devoted three full inside pages under a repeated headline: "New Government," along with two pictures of the King and the prime minister-designate at the top of the three pages. It also provided detailed description of al-Mulki"s personality and his ambition to continue after the transitional period and what is expected of him, especially on the economic level. The newspaper was of the opinion that al-Mulki"s economic background was the reason for his selection.