Jordan’s King Abdullah II has accepted the resignation of the country’s embattled prime minister, the palace said in a statement, amid the largest anti-government protests in Jordan since 2011.

Hani Mulki’s departure came after thousands joined countrywide anti-austerity demonstrations in the past few days demanding their leaders scrap a planned tax increase.

After accepting Mulki’s letter of resignation at a meeting on Monday, King Abdullah asked Omar al-Razzaz, a former World Bank economist and minister of education, to form a new administration, according to government-linked daily, Al-Rai.

In the last few days, rallies have spread across the streets of the pro-western kingdom, with protesters marching to the prime minister’s office and demanding that Mulki step down.

Having served for two years, Mulki, a long-time diplomat and minister, presided over an unpopular government that attempted to implement economic reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund to control rising public debt.

Protesters have demanded the tax bill that was sent to parliament last month be rescinded, claiming it will worsen living standards. The government, however, says it needs the extra funds for public services and argues the tax reform will be focused on high earners rather than poorer sections of society.

Jordan’s economy has suffered a downturn in recent years, and unemployment has risen, primarily as a result of conflicts in neighbouring Syria and Iraq. The country has taken in more than 660,000 Syrian refugees and has the second highest share of refugees compared to its population in the world.

The nation’s monarch is the ultimate decision-maker on policy but also positions himself as a unifying force above domestic politics. Over the years, he has frequently reshuffled or disbanded governments as a way of defusing public anger and al-Razzaz’s premiership would be the 13th in Jordan this century.

The resignation had been widely anticipated and Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, said the move was likely to provide at least a temporary break to the protests.

“Demonstrations will likely recede if not stop outright. Jordanians will want to give the new prime minister and government a chance to see what they will bring to the table; particularly this prime minister who is highly respected and quite popular amongst Jordanians of different walks of life,” she said.

Educated at Harvard, Al-Razzaz is seen as a leading reformer.

Yahya said the task his new government will have is to set an agenda that addresses slow economic growth and growing public debt without causing further deterioration in Jordanians’ quality of life.

“Rather than scrap it, I think that they will postpone and probably revise the proposed tax reform,” she said.

Workers unions representing tens of thousands of employees in both the public and private sector had called for a general strike on Wednesday after the former prime minister refused to scrap the tax reform bill this weekend.

Protest organisers said the one-day strike set for Wednesday would still take place. “We want to change the path, not the individuals,” said Ali Abous, who heads an umbrella group for 15 unions and professional associations.

Jordan has been struggling to reduce billions of dollars of national debt, equivalent to 95% of gross domestic product. The tax hikes were aimed at bringing that figure down to 77% of GDP in 2021.

Fears of a public outcry were raised in January when Jordan said it would end subsidies on pitta bread, lifting prices on the national staple by between 60 and 100%, the first significant increase since 1996. The Arab country also increased a general sales tax and the official unemployment rate has risen above 18%.

The current wave of rallies is the largest since 2011 when demonstrators inspired by the Arab spring movement took to the streets to protest unemployment, corruption and political reform. The king responded by sacking three prime ministers in 18 months.

Protests also broke out in 2012 after the government cut fuel subsidies in an attempt to secure an IMF loan and gradually lower public debt.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.