The Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan has conducted a public opinion poll to measure the performance of the government of Dr. Marouf Bakhit one year after its formation, together with the recent reshuffle on November 22. The poll was carried out from 27 November – 1 December 2006. The total size of the national sample was 1,180 respondents, while the sample size of public opinion leaders’ parallel sample was 629 respondents representing seven categories. These include: private business executives; political party leaders; professionals (lawyers, engineers, medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists, geologists, nurses and agricultural engineers); those working in the media (writers, artists, journalists); leaders of professional associations, trade unions and NGOs; high ranking state officials (former ministers, directors general, MPs, senators, former security officers and tribal leaders) and university professors.
The survey was conducted to gauge public opinion on the performance of the Bakhit government after one year in office. The poll is the latest in a series, that the CSS has been conducting since 1996, as each successive government has been sworn in and then after a hundred days, six months and one year in office. The polls are intended to measure both opinion leaders and the general public’s initial expectations and then their perceptions of the prime ministers’ and their team’s performance.
The aim of this latest poll was to identify trends in Jordanian public opinion with regard to the evaluation of the performance of Dr. Bakhit’s government; especially concerning its ability to solve the problems and issues assigned to it. The poll also measured the public’s assessment of the problems that Jordan is currently experiencing and that “the government must deal with immediately.” The study also tried to explore the respondents’ perceptions of the possible impact of government reshuffles on Jordan’s policies, especially at the domestic level.