Jordan's King Sacks Cabinet

The BBC has just reported that King Abdullah of Jordan dismissed the current government and asked former minister Adnan Badran to form a new government. The King is apparently unhappy with the performance of the outgoing cabinet regarding its "mishandling" of a series of matters including:

* The failure of a Jordanian peace initiative at the Arab summit
* A diplomatic row with Iraq after the Hilla bombing in February
* The resignation of Planning Minister Bassem Awadallah

It appears that the last straw, however, was the government's last performance at the Arab Summit. Last month's Arab summit in Algiers rejected a proposal put forward by Jordan whereby peace negotiations with Israel would resume before final status issues are resolved with the Palestinians.

In Jordan, as is the case in other Arab monarchies, most powers lie with the king, who appoints governments, approves new laws and is able to dissolve parliament.