An relatively unusual incident in Jordan – in which an angry protester on Monday hurled a pair of shoes at the country’s Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur – has refocused analyst attention on potentially widening rifts inside the monarchy, which as recently as last year was thought to be on the brink of following Egypt down a path of Muslim Brotherhood-driven destabilization:
“The prime minister was talking about the economy, when Mefleh Mahasneh, 65, head of the Jerash countryside society that was attending the event, stood up and told the prime minister: ‘You raised the prices’,” the municipality official told Agence France-Presse.
“The mayor told Mahasneh to stop because it was not his turn to talk. Mahasneh, an army retiree, got angry and took off his shoe and threw it towards the stage on which the prime minister and the ministers were sitting.”
Mahasneh then took off his other shoe and threw it in the same direction. “The pair of shoes landed on a table on the stage. Police then arrested Mahasneh.
Analysis since then has somewhat shifted, after the Brotherhood seemed to badly overreach in its criticism of King Abdullah II. One particular incident had an activist setting a picture of Abdullah on fire. The activist was arrested and shortly afterward issued a public apology that among other things declared his support for “his majesty’s vision” and called on lawmakers “to be tough against whoever may ride roughshod over this country and its resources.”
The Brotherhood in March made formal and informal moves to bolster its relationship with Abdullah. Analysts will watch the aftermath of the Monday shoe-throwing incident to see if it follows a similar pattern. Police detained the 65-year-old protester, claiming that it was “for his own protection because some of the attendees threatened to take action against him.”
The incident occurred against the backdrop of wider protests and strikes, which erupted in the aftermath of fuel price hikes overseen by the Nsur government. The Obama administration has declared Jordanian stability to be a key American interest, and has in recent years actively funneled troops and financial assistance to Amman.
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