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Beginning of a long road

Jul 21,2018 - Last updated at Jul 21,2018

After everything was said and done under the dome of Parliament last week, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz emerged triumphant after having won the Lower Houses' vote of confidence by 79 MPs voting yes, against 42 who voted no.

This is no small feat for the prime minister, considering that he is a novice personality and little known within the political establishment in the country. Yet, having won the vote of confidence is only the beginning of a long road, during which Razzaz has to prove that he can, and will, deliver on his many promises.

The prime minister has a limited time to deliver on his pledges as his honeymoon could be shorter than expected. The watchful eyes of deputies are now focused on every step Razzaz makes, and he must therefore be on guard and not fumble during the first few weeks in office.

Perhaps the premiere must begin by reshaping his long Cabinet and make it much slimmer as, indeed, His Majesty King Abdullah wanted all along. Many deputies made comments along the line.

Next in order of priorities could be the taxation system of the country. While no one in their right mind would want the government to rush into changes that are neither competent nor fully considered or sufficient, the government must nevertheless come up rather soon with a new taxation order that meets the concerns of the country at large. This would require the reconsideration of the existing taxation order by a team of real experts with a mandate to pursue their task with a holistic approach.

Not far behind is the issue of trimming state expenditure and merging bureaucracies. Budget deficit can no longer be put on the back burner and an earnest effort must be made to reduce the staggering national debt to manageable proportions.

Not much can be expected of the new government on the external relations front, as the country's foreign policies are rather fixed and well established. It is the home front that counts most for the people of the country and the prime minister can be expected to address just that.

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