KARACHI: With the removal of Mohammed bin Nayef as crown prince from the Saudi line of succession on Wednesday, the decks have apparently been cleared for King Salman’s young, ambitious son Mohammed bin Salman to one day assume the throne of the desert kingdom.
While palace intrigues and court politics are part and parcel of all the world’s remaining monarchical systems, when there is a shake-up in the Saudi line of succession, people take notice for two particular reasons: firstly, whoever controls the Saudi throne controls access to Makkah and Madina, Islam’s two holiest sites. Secondly, as Saudi Arabia is a hydrocarbon powerhouse, the world keeps its eyes glued to Riyadh to see what the likely impact on petrol stations from New York to Karachi will be.
While the declaration of Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince was long the subject of rumour mills, it was not expected to happen so suddenly. However, few would argue that bin Salman’s rise in the Saudi pecking order has been anything short of meteoric, ever since his father assumed the throne in 2015 following the death of King Abdullah. Before 2015, many outside — and perhaps even within Saudi Arabia — would have had trouble identifying bin Salman from amongst the thousands of princes of the House of Saud. Today he is widely considered the eminence grise of Saudi Arabia, the real power behind the throne. Wednesday’s royal decree has just consolidated his position.
All is not well in the House of Saud as official opposition to new appointment does exist
Public reaction to the move has, of course, been well-coordinated. In a video released after the announcement, bin Salman can be seen kissing the hand of his elder cousin bin Nayef, the man he just superseded. In Arab culture this is seen as a sign of deference to elders. However, it appears that all is not well within the House of Saud as far as the rapid ascension of the young prince is concerned. For example, as per the Saudi Press Agency, 31 out of 34 members of the royal Allegiance Council backed the king’s move. This means that while it may be miniscule, there is official opposition to the swift changeover.
Back in September 2015, an unnamed Saudi prince had also shared an open letter to Salman in The Guardian, critical of the new king and stating that there was disquiet in the royal family over the way things were headed in the kingdom.