Khaberni -
At a moment where international crises intersect with internal challenges, His Majesty King Abdullah II delivered the Royal Throne Speech, announcing the opening of the twentieth ordinary session of the Parliament.
The speech bore an exceptional spirit between the messages of the leader and the concerns of the citizens, between political directives and the call to action, between what has been accomplished and what awaits implementation. This time, the speech was closer to a "national assignment notebook" than a traditional ceremonial text, as it included precise references to specific files and interlinked reformative paths in politics, economy, administration, and services.
The first phrases of the speech were charged with meanings of belonging, as if redefining the relationship between the king and his people based on mutual trust and shared responsibility.
The phrase “Yes, the king worries, but he only fears Allah, and fears nothing with a Jordanian at his back” is not just an expression of feelings, but it is a consolidation of the emotional partnership between the leadership and the people, reaffirming that the strength of the state is not measured only by its economic indicators, but by the spirit of its people and their faith in their homeland.
This message brings back a human dimension to the Jordanian political scene that's been missing in the era of cold calculations; the king speaks as a concerned father, not as a reassured ruler, yet at the same time confident because “the Jordanian is at his back,” which is a deep political expression of popular legitimacy based on trust and national loyalty.
When His Majesty said, “We cannot afford the luxury of time nor room for complacency,” the phrase acted as a wake-up call for the government and state institutions. The royal vision for modernization is not a postponed project, but a time-bound plan.
In recent years, the Jordanian state has set out the “Economic Modernization Vision 2033” as a roadmap towards a more productive, just, and competitive economy, yet actual achievement is still wavering.
The king here links execution to time, and time to responsibility, meaning that any delay in administrative reform or in implementing major projects is a shortfall towards the citizen and the nation.
In other words: the speech does not grant the luxury of theorizing but demands results.
The economic focus in the Throne Speech was not incidental. The key sentence “We must continue to implement the economic modernization vision to continue achieving growth, launching major projects, attracting investments, providing job opportunities, and raising living standards” summarizes the features of the upcoming phase.
The king did not just repeat general concepts about reform, but specified growth drivers: investment, major projects, job opportunities, and living standards.
This means that the upcoming parliamentary oversight must transform from formal surveillance to outcome and indicator monitoring; the question is no longer “Has the government launched projects?” but “How many job opportunities have these projects created? And how much actual investment has entered the country?”.
Talking about economic modernization without addressing the investment environment, legislation, and licensing bureaucracy remains beautiful rhetoric without tools.
“We must continue to develop the public sector so that the citizen feels the improvement in services”.
With this phrase, His Majesty King Abdullah turned administrative modernization from a technical term into a social justice issue. Citizens do not want to hear about committees and strategies but want to feel a difference in their day: speed in transactions, integrity in service, transparency in decisions.
The public sector is the real face of the state before its citizens, and if its institutions remain bogged down by bureaucracy and stagnation, no vision will succeed, no matter how ambitious.
From here, administrative modernization becomes a “silent engine” for all other reforms.
In a pivotal paragraph, the king said: “We must uplift our educational system... and continue to develop our health system, and modernize the transport sector”.
These three files are not just a service detail but a pillar for the stability of the middle class, and a guarantee of the minimum level of social justice.
Education is the smartest investment in the future, health is real social security, and transportation is a measure of the development of cities and regions.
The requirement today for the government is not a partial improvement in these sectors but a quantum leap based on technology, modern governance, and partnership with the private sector.
For decades, Jordan has balanced between the conflicts of the region and its own internal needs. Nevertheless, King Abdullah II has maintained a steadfast stance on the Palestinian issue, renewing it in the speech:
“We stand before the disaster that our people in Gaza are living... and we will remain by your side with all our capabilities, a brother's stand with his brother.”
This speech is not only measured by its humanitarian content but also by its audacity in the context of global division. Here, Jordan presents itself as both a rational and brave voice, rejecting violations in the West Bank, and adhering to the Hashemite custodianship of Jerusalem as a non-negotiable principle.
It is a dual message: to Jordanians that their historical role continues, and to the world that stability in the region depends on justice in Palestine.
Among all institutions, the Parliament was placed in a position of direct assignment:
“It is the responsibility of this council to follow up on what has been achieved in the political modernization path and to enhance parliamentary party work dedicated to serving the homeland.”
This directive opens the door to a new stage of parliamentary practice, based on “programs not persons”.
What is required from a deputy today is to shift from being a spokesperson for his region to an observer and legislator on behalf of the state, and to measure the government's performance not by the number of statements but by the magnitude of change that people feel.
The upcoming parliament faces a test of public trust, and the party blocks are required to prove their ability to shift from slogans to achievements.
When the king said: “Here are the men from the Hussein factory... this blessed land is the birthplace of the free,” he reaffirmed that our Arab army is not just a defense institution, but a pillar of national identity.
The army is the prime guarantee of stability, and the Hashemite custodianship is the historical guarantee of legitimacy, and together they form the “Jordanian constant” that accepts no compromise, no matter how much the world around us changes.
The royal speech reordered the priorities of the state, but at the same time placed the government under the microscope of accountability.
The economic scene still faces complex challenges:
The public debt exceeds 115% of the Gross Domestic Product.
The unemployment rate hovers around 21%, and exceeds 40% among the youth.
The investment environment suffers from slow procedures and a lack of real incentives.
The trust gap between the citizens and the government is still palpable.
But hope here is not absent. Jordan possesses all the elements for a rise: a strategic location, educated human resources, and rare political stability in the region.
The real challenge is in “the shift from vision to execution”.
The king stated it clearly: There is no time for complacency.
What is required today is for the vision to turn into an operational plan measured by figures, not statements.
From a linguistic and rhetorical perspective, this year's Throne Speech was characterized by concise, decoration-free language, but it was charged with emotion.
Direct sentences like: “Some of you wonder how the king feels?” or “Yes, the king worries” reinstated the emotional connection between the king and the citizens, making the speech accessible to the public, not confined to political elites.
On the other hand, economic issues were included within a national context, engaging yet non-technical language, linking growth and job opportunities, and services and dignity.
This balance between emotion and reason is what made the speech appealing to the public opinion, and easy for media translation as a comprehensive political and economic document.
The Royal Throne Speech was not just the opening of a new parliamentary session, but a declaration of a different phase of national reform.
The king set the direction, determined the pace, and handed the ball to the executive and legislative authorities, along with the private sector and civil society.
It is a speech of will before plan, and action before words.
And because Jordan was “born in the heart of crises,” as His Majesty said, it is always capable of overcoming them, provided that this speech turns into a disciplined national program in time and results.
Today's bet is not on paper plans, but on execution ability, and on the partnership between the state and the citizen, for they together signify the phase: A state that works... and a people who trust.
