As several thousand protesters marched through Jordan's capital, Amman, on Monday night following prime minister Hani Mulki's resignation, they chanted "No to Mulki, No to Razzaz". It was a response to now-confirmed rumours that former World Bank economist Omar Al Razzaz had been appointed prime minister in a bid to subdue demonstrators.
But as one of Jordan's worst crises in decades lurches on, Mr Al Razzaz faces an uphill battle. Amid rising public debt, an influx of some 700,000 Syrian refugees, conflicts in neighbouring Iraq, Syria and Palestine and double-digit unemployment, the government was forced to sign a $750m loan agreement with the IMF in 2016, which introduced a raft of austerity policies that squeezed the middle class.
The latest, a major income tax law, was the final straw, spilling thousands onto the streets in nationwide strikes.
But real change will be hard to achieve, despite the resignation of one prime minister and the appointment of another.
Mr Mulki has been praised for his “bravery in taking difficult decisions that do not gain popularity” by King Abdullah II, who asked him to remain as caretaker until a new government is formed.
Meanwhile, the Professional Unions Association chief said it will continue its industrial action unless the income tax law is withdrawn. And protest organisers said that personnel changes in government are immaterial without fundamental reforms.
Mr Al Razzaz is a skilled administrator, well-versed in the challenges of debt-ridden countries with swollen bureaucracies. But whether he can win over those facing economic hardship while fulfilling Jordan's significant obligations to the IMF is another matter.
Shrewd governments like Egypt’s have successfully revived their economies with the help of international lenders. Austerity in Jordan must be coupled with strategic investment designed to revive the flagging economy.
Even if the contentious income tax law is withdrawn or amended – as Jordan’s official Petra news agency yesterday hinted it might be – debt reduction targets will need to be met. Meanwhile, proponents of fundamental change are growing louder.
They may well be frustrated by the appointment of the technocratic Al Razzaz, signifying further uncertainty in Jordan, traditionally a bastion of stability in a precarious region.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
