The purge of influential figures in Saudi Arabia has many consequences for the kingdom as well as the rest of West Asia (Editorial – “Royal flush”, November 7).
For one, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has sidelined many influential figures and potential rivals. King Salman’s royal decree also aims to put in place officials who will be loyal to his son when he eventually takes over the mantle. In addition, the Crown Prince is now free to pursue his reform agenda since he has gained the backing of the top cleric council. While the Saudi public has welcomed the crackdown, it remains to be seen whether things will change or whether they stay the same.
As far as the international community is concerned, the succession line in Saudi Arabia is more or less set in stone. It also heralds a generational change which in itself is unusual among GCC monarchies. The irony of it all is that the former Qatari Emir was criticised by Saudi Arabia for bypassing his family to anoint his son.
Akshay Viswanathan,
Thiruvananthapuram
Though some analysts feel that the shake-up in the kingdom is a part of political and economic reforms that started with granting of licence to Saudi women to drive cars, there are many who feel that all this is an attempt to suppress any kind of opposition to ‘MBS’.
Without going into the nitty-gritty of the developments and delving into its merits and demerits, it points to the inevitability that no country, however fundamentalist or orthodox it is, can remain so for long in the present era of renaissance, reformation and influence of people’s will.
R. Sampath,
Chennai
