Jordan first

His Majesty King Abdullah has been giving the Palestinian conflict, especially the Jerusalem file, the lion's share of his diplomatic endeavours for some time now and for good reasons. US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December last year has exacerbated the Palestinian "peace process" and heightened, in response, the involvement of King Abdullah in Jerusalem for fear that the attempts of the US, under the leadership of Trump, to a create fait accompli on Jerusalem and the West Bank may gain currency worldwide in the absence of sustained Jordanian efforts to combat the plan.

The Hashemite custodianship of the Islamic and Christian holy shrines in East Jerusalem figures highly in the King's list of priorities. The Palestinian case in general, and Jerusalem in particular, have therefore topped Jordan's agenda and became its main concerns and the principle subject of its foreign policy.

This special treatment of the Palestinian issue can also be understood and appreciated by the fact that the Palestinian territories are Jordan's next door area and are naturally of strategic importance to Jordan's own security and stability. The security and stability of the West Bank, especially East Jerusalem, is Jordan's security as well. Making Jerusalem and the Palestine file the principle concern of Jordan has not, however, been pursued at the expense of the peculiar Jordanian national policy issues at either the external or the internal levels. 

The national economy, including combating poverty and budgetary deficit, as well as security across the country's borders, continue to command the principle policy issues for Jordan. No wonder, the King has constantly reminded the government of the need to prioritise the basic needs of the poor and the empowerment of the middle class.

Jordan's own domestic stability rests squarely on combating poverty and generating employment, no matter what other sacrifices that must be made for such purposes. The pursuit of these pressing objectives need to be done in a consumer-friendly fashion and persuasive to the affected vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of citizens. 

The rank and file Jordanians can not be expected to understand sophisticated macroeconomic terms, they require down-to-earth submissions that they can comprehend and relate to in simple terminology. The public can be expected to sympathise with austerity measures and draconian fiscal policies, including harsh taxation policy, if presented in a language that is direct and simple. That's after all what successful governments are expected to do in order to win public support. Meanwhile Jordanians expect that Jordan's own interests and challenges be given top priority.