A government of initiatives is needed

I have always been of the opinion that governments, elected or appointed, should come with specific agendas.

The importance of this is twofold. First, it enables governments to know precisely what is expected of them, so that they focus fully on implementing it.

Second, it is the basis on which people judge the success or failure of governments.

In recent memory, we had very few agenda-driven governments. Most of the time, governments in our part of the world come with general mandates, attempting to do everything and end up doing either nothing or very little.

Most of them, in fact, have been what one may call business-as-usual governments.

They come to conduct our affairs and the affairs of the existing institutions routinely, uncreatively, undramatically and with the least damage possible.

The present government is one of those, with the exception of three things: steering the country safely through the rocky aftermath of the Arab Spring; preventing the economy from collapsing through unpopular measures of taxation and price hikes; pushing through Parliament a number of much-needed laws.

Other than this, it has been business as usual. No new ideas, no creativity, no thrill and no glamour.

More importantly, perhaps, no serious tackling of inherited problems, which have become even more chronic.

What we need in the years ahead is a break from this vicious cycle, a government of initiatives.

Governments whose ultimate objective is to make ends meet do not do.

We have bigger expectations and bigger dreams, and we want governments that attempt to bring about some of those expectations and dreams.

It is true that we are a country with limited resources, that there are so many challenges and obstacles at so many levels, and that we live in a volatile and turbulent region.

But we also have great potential.

Why do we forget that? We have the ability and the means needed to do a much better job than we are doing now.

And who says that other countries that have risen to greatness in recent or past eras had lesser challenges or obstacles than we have at this point?

Governments are like people. Some are narrow-minded, shortsighted, incompetent and uncreative. They lack vision, ability and skills to deliver.

Others, by contrast, are broad-minded, far-sighted, competent and creative. And they can deliver.

Why do we, most of the time, get stuck with the former?

Attitude and outlook make a huge difference.

Most of our governments have been looking at the empty half of the glass. We need those who look at the full half as well.

And this is precisely what His Majesty King Abdullah said the other day in an interview with Euronews.

A government of initiatives, composed of the latter type of people, is needed.

It is needed to bring about smart, effective solutions to key problems in key spheres: our obsolete education and higher education systems; our primitive transportation sector; our chaotic and slummy urban and rural centres; our irrelevant state media; the state’s inelegant management of our tourism sector, the untapped potential of our youth, etc.

We want a government that comes up with grand schemes in all these key spheres.

We have a lot of potential, and there is so much we can do. We, therefore, should not be content with the little that we have or — worse — succumb to humble expectations, inhibition and mediocre performance.