by AS’AD ABUKHALIL
The appointment of Prince Bandar to head Saudi foreign intelligence is an important step in the gradual but steady transfer of power from the first generation of Saudi princes (sons of Abdul-Aziz) to the second generation.
The old generation of Saudi princes clung to power for too long and never cared about qualifications or skills. Seniority was defined by age and loyalty (Badr and Talal were punished for their years of defection to Nasser’s regime by being denied a ministerial position, although both made a humiliating return to Saudi Arabia in 1964).
Some Saudi princes did not show any interest in power: Prince Muhammad agreed to step aside in the royal process of selection in the wake of King Faisal’s death, while Prince Khaled was an ascetic who devoted his life to religious devotion and falconry (he did not mind that Fahd ran the show under him).
If you look at the distribution of power in the kingdom today you realize that power has been already transferred to the second generation of princes.
Prince Saud al-Faisal is running the foreign ministry and his deputy (who is likely to succeed him) is Abdul-Aziz (the son of King Abdullah). Abdul-Aziz’s brother, Mutab, is the head of the National Guard (a post that his father held and it allowed him to be the chief leader of tribes in the kingdom — with his multiple marriages facilitating this role).
Muhammad, son of King Fahd, is (badly) running the Eastern Province (although there are loud demands for his ouster in Qatif and other places).
Prince Muhammad bin Nayif is running the interior ministry, despite the appointment of his uncle Ahmad as minister.
And Prince Khaled al-Faisal has the title of Emir of Mecca but he seems to be emerging as a key candidate for a much higher office soon.
It was Prince Nayef who was running the kingdom in the last two years as King Abdullah was increasingly incapacitated. But Prince Nayef is dead and Prince Salman may be too ill to assume any real powers. His sons may be undertaking the responsibilities of the job on his behalf.
This leaves the kingdom for the first time since it was founded in the hands of the second generation of princes. There is not a single first-generation prince who is slated to play a major role, or who is now exercising an important political role. Mutab and Abdul-Aziz run their father, while the sons of Salman run him.
There is a new era for Saudi Arabia but it does not promise to be any better (politically and socially) than the previous era. If anything, many of the new princes are more isolated from the public than their fathers.
Alakhbar for more
(Thanks to Robin Khundkar)