Jordan king swears in new gov’t headed by PM Bisher al-Khaswaneh

Jordan’s King Abdullah II has sworn in a new government led by Prime Minister Bisher al-Khaswaneh that is facing an uphill task to revive growth in an economy facing a sharp economic crisis aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic. Khasawneh, 51, was designated on Wednesday to replace Omar al-Razzaz, who was  appointed in the summer of 2018 to defuse the biggest protests in years over tax increases sought by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce Jordan’s large public debt. The swearing-in ceremony on Monday came at a time of rising popular discontent about worsening economic conditions and curbs on public freedoms under emergency laws to contain the spread of COVID-19. Coming from a family that has long held senior political posts, Khasawneh has spent most of his public career as a diplomat, and most recently acted as a policy adviser to the kind. Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Finance Minister Mohamad al-Ississ, who oversees the country’s reform programme with the IMF, kept their posts in a 32-member cabinet dominated by a mix of technocrats and conservative politicians who held sway in previous governments. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">