It seems to me that the much quoted "people of Jordan" never "like" any of their Kings' wives. It seems to me also that most of this poison is coming from the "chattering classes", as we call them in the UK, who are just jealous of these
ordinary women who have been elevated to an extraordinary position.
You would be wrong. Not all the wives of Kings have been disliked. And it isn't only the "chattering classes" (which is only comprised of the Hashemites and their cronies). It is the average man on the street. Certainly the Palestinians in refugee camps do not belong to the Chattering classes. Neither do the Beduoin leaders who stopped her from promulgating laws. Jordanians are not parochial simpeltons. They know that they are living under an often brutal and authoritirarian regime. After all, they experience it every day. Moreover, they are not oblivious to Rania's spending. They have eyes and can cmpare and contrast her lifestyle with their own.
Jordan may be "third world" but it is strategically very important.
Pray tell, who denied that? However, you should ask yourself that if Jordan would be of the same strategic interest if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was resolved, and a separate, viable Palestinian state were to be established.
To have a King AND a Queen (particularly a Queen with excellent "Arab" credentials) to talk eloquently about the position of Jordan (and all those Jordanians who seem to hate them so much) AND the Palestinians on a world stage should be seen as a huge asset.
Eloquent speaking skills does not a good ruler make. They can talk all they want, but it is all talk. Talk (or spin) does not ameliorate the lives of these people. Neither does their unrealistic economic policies. You mentioned Jordan's geostrategic importance above and I again ask you if you think Jordan would be of the same geostrategic importance if peace were established between the Israelis and the Palestinians. This may be the reason why the Jordanians haven't done anything substantive to bring a Palestinian state to fruition (Do you know visions of the first Camp David Accords and of Oslo?). To put it bluntly, there is money to be made from the conflict. Egypt alone receives billions. It is one hing for Rania et. al to talk about the Palestinians on American talk shows and quite another for them to do anything substantive. Believe me, the Palestinians are no fans of the Hashemites. They know the role of the King's family in the events of 1948. They know that Jordan sold them out. Talk must be backed up with action.
Like it or not, Jordan needs the Americans and whatever the King, Queen or anyone else believes, as long as they show up on Larry King and sound like sane, reasonable, non radical individuals they are helping to counter the mostly negative press that Arabs as a whole seem to receive in the West. Isn't that a good thing?
LOL!!! Showing up on Larry King is not going to keep them form possibly being overthrown by their own people. Only listening to public opinion will do that. Just like in the west where a government that doesn't adhere to the wishes of the electorate is voted out. Moreover, just because someone sounds like they are sane, reasonable, and non-radical does not necessarily mean that they are (and I'm not necessarily say that they are not any of these thing). Furthermore, why should the Jordanian people have to put up with them simply because the biased Western press likes their corrupt and authoritarian royal famioly, which represents an often brutal regime with a terrible human rights record? You need to get your priorities straight.
To twitter away about her alleged extravagance seems to me to be missing the Big Picture here.
It certainly is not missing the big picture, and I daresay you are taking a very simplistic approach to this. Her extravagance (whether real or perceived) is a sore spot for many people, including those in the West, which provides aid to Jordan. It could have serious ramifications. Look at the Pahalivis, Saddam Hussein, and even the Romanovs. Indeed, although Westerners were taken in by their galm, when it came time to give them a place to go into exile , there were no takers. Similar situation for the Pahalavis. In short, extravgence coupled with authoritarianism is never a good combination.
Let's face it, they did the same about Queen Noor and every other unfortunate woman who has married into a royal family and dares to dress well.
That's actually not true. Do you even know all of the women in the royal family? For the most part, all of the Hashemite women dress well, yet none of them garner the kind of criticism that Rania does. The reason is because Jordanians are cognizant of the fact that there is a difference between dressing well and acting like a spendthrift fashion model.
They'd make the same fuss if she turned up everywhere in the same clothes!! Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Oh, and how do you know that? You are again taking a your comment quite insulting. Is it based on the fact that they are Arab? Jordanians are not a petty or mean spirited people. They do have a right to hold their leaders to account, you know.
So you do what YOU think is right Your Majesty!
Does that include the human rights abuses, censorship, denying of rights to the majority, etc. <snort>?
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