Jordan concluded the week spanning February 8 to 14, 2026, maneuvering within a dense gray area, in an ambiguous and metered rhythm scene, where politics intersect with economics, sovereignty with administration, while Ramadan looms as a social appointment that tolerates no miscalculations or the luxury of experimentation. It was not a week of decisive decisions as much as it was a week of testing directions; heavy dossiers were simultaneously opened and brought to the public, as if the state was testing the public mood before transitioning from the discussion stage to the decisive moment.
In the postponed test for social security, the law returned to the forefront under the question of reform or recalibration, laden with a double sensitivity, financial and social. Proposals for gradually raising the retirement age to 63 for men and 58 for women reignited the debate under the dome and in public space, between legitimate concerns about any infringement on retirement rights, and governmental insistence that the financial sustainability of the fund is no longer a postponable luxury.
However, the problem does not lie in the proposed texts themselves, but in a trust gap. Any amendment is popularly read as a reduction, even if technically presented as a course correction. With Ramadan approaching, any uncalculated decision becomes a doubly burdensome social load, necessitating clearer government rhetoric, exceptional transparency in handling the file, and broader partnership channels with unions and the public, rather than just explaining after making the decision.
And in the proposed upheaval between modernization and adventure, the government sparked a broad debate with a proposal to amend the weekly work system to four working days versus three days off, with scenarios including adopting Sunday as an official holiday, and shifting Friday's work to remote or flexible, in exchange for increased daily working hours.
The proposal reflects a governmental attempt to think outside the conventional boxes, align with labor market transformations and production patterns, as well as reflecting an official desire to modernize public administration, reduce operating costs, alleviate stifling congestion, and improve employee psychological balance. However, the proposal conversely opens a wide door to questioning: Is the digital infrastructure ready? Can the private sector keep up with this shift without disruption? And what about the identity of Sunday in a society still economically tied to the region? The decision, if made, cannot afford to be rushed; it requires phased, calculated experimentation, or else it could transform from an administrative update to an additional economic burden.
In a file no less sensitive, where investment stands on the line of sovereignty, the signing of a concession agreement to manage the Aqaba port with Abu Dhabi Ports Group, for a 70% stake for 30 years, sparked a sharp national debate that transcended the economy to the question of sovereignty itself. The government presents the agreement as a strategic partnership capable of enhancing efficiency and transforming Aqaba into a regional logistics hub, supported by significant investment inflows.
Conversely, there are concerns about privatizing the kingdom's only maritime facility, and the sovereignty-related questions that arise from control over supply chains and economic decisions. The truth is that the debate revolves not around the investment itself, but around its limits and guarantees; the question is not who manages, but what are the limits of management? Who holds the sovereign decision? And how is the national interest protected in the long term? The complete absence of details is what fuels the debate, not the agreement itself.
In the parliament under the pressure of representation and accountability, the decision to dismiss MP Mohammad Jarrah by a definitive ruling from the Supreme Administrative Court was not an isolated incident, but a revealing one of a structural flaw that highlighted the fragility of the relationship between parliamentary behavior and accountability rules. The debate did not stop at the dismissal but extended to the question of succession: Who represents the district? And how is the void filled without hijacking the popular will under loosely defined party titles?
This development reopened a deeper discussion about the laws of parties and elections, where experience has proven that the parliamentary seat is still captive to individualism and narrow alignments, turning every personal crisis into a general political crisis. Revising these laws is no longer just an elitist demand, but a necessary condition for the stability of the parliamentary work itself.
In the midst of this turmoil, a royal momentum from Washington to Sahab emerged as a rhythm-adjusting factor in a week crowded with questions. His Majesty's visit to Washington came at a regionally sensitive time, loaded with files on the Palestinian cause and the constants of the Jordanian role, alongside securing economic support cover under a new American administration still shaping its policies. The visit was not merely ceremonial, but a proactive political positioning at a fluid regional moment.
Domestically, the meeting of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with the people of Sahab carried a parallel message in its content and tools: a policy of proximity and direct listening, linking the future with vocational training and production technology, away from rhetorical discourse. The meeting reaffirmed that development is not managed from the center alone, but is built from social and economic bases, in a thoughtfully balanced interplay between the inside and the outside.
And as Ramadan approaches with the markets under scrutiny, this was distinctly a week of provisioning. Preemptive concern in the markets, yet with a notable stability in poultry and meat prices compared to 2025, and strict monitoring by the Food and Drug Administration which destroyed large quantities of non-compliant products before reaching the consumer. At this timing, every economic or administrative decision is measured by a finer social scale: either a calculated soothing, or hasty decisions whose costs are deferred to the holy month.
And in summary of a week of opening files without resolving them, it can be said that Jordan has not made major decisions as much as it has placed itself before its challenging questions. A state stands on the threshold of a delicate reformative phase, between changing work patterns, recalibrating the retirement system, and the dialectics of sovereignty and political representation. As for the citizen, the equation of balance remains the toughest: an eye on their wallet… and an eye on the Khaberni.
