The change Saudi Arabia needs

Speed is essential for political and cultural reforms, especially in the face of opposition

No one can fault Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for lack of ambition. The 30-year-old son of Saudi Arabia’s king has plans to sell shares in the world’s largest state oil company and create the largest sovereign wealth fund. The idea is to help the country diversify its economy. The fund would invest around the world while helping Saudi Aramco expand beyond oil and into construction, engineering, and other industries. It’s a bold move, and its scale alone may help Saudis understand the magnitude of the challenge they face.

At the same time, it will take more than this to produce the change the country needs. Success requires moving fast on the kinds of political and cultural reforms that usually take decades.

A population accustomed to relying on immigrant labor and government assistance will have to work more and pay taxes. At the same time, the state will have to be more responsive to the citizens that it’s now asking to start businesses and fend for themselves. It will have to provide them with better health care and an educational system that helps them succeed in a new economy. More women will need to work (and drive to work, too). Fewer princes will be able to enjoy luxurious lifestyles at state expense. And when there’s unrest, the government will have to resist the temptation to buy off the opposition.

This is a tall order, to put it mildly. For Saudi Arabia to become the kind of regional financial-services hub that Prince Mohammed envisions would be harder still. Ultraconservative religious leaders and much of his own family would fiercely oppose the kinds of changes needed to make their country attractive to employees of foreign companies.

The prince has moved surprisingly quickly to cut waste and subsidies and is pushing for large-scale privatizations. He deserves support. But he’ll also have to show he’s ready to do what it takes to succeed—and sooner than he thinks. <BW>