National Post (National Edition)
Reforming and ambitious Saudi prince ousts cousin
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s ambitious 31-year-old defence minister, was made heir to the throne Wednesday, replacing his older cousin and confirming the king’s endorsement of his plans to overhaul the kingdom’s economy and aggressively confront Iran.
He gained the title of crown prince at the expense of his Mohammed bin Nayaf, who was stripped of his position as first-in-line to the throne and lost his job as Saudi Arabia’s interior minister.
The move ends any uncertainty over who will succeed King Salman, who is 81 and in poor health, and puts the future of Saudi Arabia in the hands of a young, modernizing prince who could potentially rule for decades.
Prince Mohammed, often referred to by his initials “MBS,” became defence minister at the age of 29, but his father also gave him broad powers over the economy and on foreign affairs, earning him the nickname “Mr. Everything.”
He has spearheaded an economic plan to try to wean Saudi Arabia off its dependence on foreign oil and to cut back on spending, angering some Saudi citizens and members of the royal family who found their government subsidies scaled back.
The prince has been in charge of Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in neighbouring Yemen, which has resulted in a bloody humanitarian disaster and a military stalemate, and was behind Riyadh’s recent moves to isolate its neighbour, Qatar.
He has also championed a policy of confronting regional rival Iran, and Wednesday Iranian state media denounced his ascension as a “soft coup” designed to consolidate power within King Salman’s branch of the royal family.
Prince Mohammed’s first priority was to try to smooth over tensions with his 57-year-old cousin, Mohammed bin Nayaf, who had been crown prince for five years before losing all his government roles on Wednesday.
The new heir and his ousted predecessor made a show of solidarity in front of the state television cameras, with Prince Mohammed kneeling in front of the older man and vowing: “We will not give up on taking your guidance and advice.” Mohammed bin Nayaf stated: “I am content.”
News of Prince Mohammed’s promotion was accompanied by a constitutional change so that his son cannot be king, a gesture intended to reassure other parts of Saudi Arabia’s vast royal family. A nephew of Mohammed bin Nayaf was made interior minister.
Saudi Arabia has a complicated system of succession that does not usually run from father to son. Ibn Saud was the first ruler of the kingdom after its founding in 1932 but all six subsequent kings have been his sons, meaning the crown has passed from brother to brother.
“It’s a bold move and to the king’s credit that he’s been able to convince his brothers to side with him and move power on to the next generation,” said Ghanem Nuseibeh, the founder of Cornerstone Global Associates, a political risk firm.
The prince has eased some of Saudi Arabia’s restrictive social laws and hopes to one day reopen cinemas, which were closed in the 1970s. He is believed to also support a somewhat freer role for women, who are banned from driving and cannot travel without a male guardian. Prince Mohammed has a reputation for aggressive policy moves, especially when compared to Saudi Arabia’s usually slow and consensus-driven approach to governance.
Last year, he announced an economic blueprint known as Vision 2030, which is intended to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil and to breathe life into its sclerotic private sector. Many observers doubt that the ambitious proposals can be met in the prince’s proposed time frame.
“I have heard from a lot of people that he’s very headstrong and has a reputation as an aggressive businessman,” said Andrew Bowen, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “That’s created an impression that he can be brash and that he’s not as measured as his father.”
The prince has staked out a hard approach against Iran, saying there can be no dialogue with Tehran because its Shia regime wants to take over the Islamic world. “We won’t wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia. Instead, we’ll work so that the battle is for them in Iran,” he has said.
He led his country into war against Shia rebels aligned with Iran in Yemen, but the intervention has not gone as planned. After more than two years of fighting, the Saudi-led coalition has been unable to dislodge rebel forces.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the fighting and millions in Yemen are now on the brink of famine. A sweeping cholera epidemic has killed at least a thousand more.
HE HAS A REPUTATION AS AN AGGRESSIVE BUSINESSMAN.