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Woes of the would-be
Saudi king amid crisis
There are indications that MBS does not feel confident enough to
ASIAN DRAMA step into the shoes of his father, King Salman, once the latter
SyeD abdicates his responsibilities in the near future
NooRuzzAMAN
he House of Saud, which Whether the arrested Saudi royals
runs the government in were involved in an anti-MBS con-
The columnist — former Saudi Arabia, is faced with spiracy to upstage him as the future
Deputy Editor of The a major crisis. No one king of Saudi Arabia or not, they were
Tribune, Chandigarh — knows what will happen to open critics of the style of functioning
specialises in foreign T it in the near future when of MBS, who is conducting the affairs of
affairs. With a career the present monarch, King Salman his country as the de facto king. Nothing
spanning 41 years, he bin Abdul Aziz, father of Crown Prince can happen on the defence, political,
keeps close watch on Mohammed bin Salman or MBS, retires. economic, social and religious fronts
issues related to South The king must have obviously felt that without his consent. The action against
Asian countries. The the kingdom would be safe in the hands the three royals, it seems, has been
views expressed are of MBS when he appointed in June 2017 aimed at silencing them at least till MBS
personal his eldest son in a position to succeed finally takes over as the King of Saudi
him. But there are indications that MBS Arabia.
does not feel confident enough to step But can he now feel certain to
into the shoes of his father once the lat- realise his political ambitions under the
ter abdicates his responsibilities in the prevailing circumstances? There is no
near future. straight answer to this question. Though
Eighty-four-year-old King Salman is he is already the de facto king of his
unlikely to continue to guide the destiny country, he lacks some crucial qualifica-
of the kingdom for a few more years tions which his predecessors, including
because of his failing health. In 2017, he his father, possessed. They did not lack
was reported to be suffering from pre- the qualification of legitimacy, which
dementia which might have advanced comes with unanimity among the roy-
by now. als about the Crown Prince taking over
Viewed against this backdrop, the as the King.
recent action by MBS against three MBS would not have been sure of
members of the royal family on suspi- getting the “bay’ah”, the oath of alle-
cion of these people being involved in giance, from the senior princes repre-
a plot to overthrow him from the sented in the 33-member committee
position he has acquired to be the that was established for the purpose
unquestioned heir apparent to the in 2008 by King Abdullah. Though the
king is quite understandable. MBS “bay’ah” cannot stop his ascension to the
sensed serious trouble from Prince throne, it can definitely shake the confi-
Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz, his uncle and dence of the person concerned because
brother of King Salman, former Crown of the missing stamp of legitimacy of the
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (who had royals.
been under house arrest since 2017, There are two other major param-
when he got replaced as the Crown eters on which MBS will have to come
Prince) and his younger brother Prince clean. He does not have a strong creden-
Nawaf bin Nayef and recently detained tials as a ruler who has been working
them along with a number of high- hard to ensure that all the citizens of the
ranking officials. kingdom are satisfactorily benefited by
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