Of velvet gloves and iron fist

This seems to be an age of political risk-takers. From the farthest Western shores of the USA to the Land of The Rising Sun, Japan, politicians are plunging into the game of dice. Only, they are mindful of the consequences and are prepared to face the same.

After, Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe, it is the turn of Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia or simply MBS, as he is known today, to do the unthinkable. All these politicians are redefining the contours of governance with their bold moves, much to the chagrin of critics. There are as many admirers of these as detractors, but they don't seem to be bothered about their impact.

What MBS is doing to Saudi Arabia is perhaps the most unthinkable of it all given the nature of the society, the system and the politics...all interwoven into the religion in the kingdom. The decision of the Crown Prince to launch a surgical strike against graft in the country for consolidation of authority is a loaded one.

Henceforth, Saudi Arabia may not be the same again by any yardstick. It is kingdom where the businesses controlled, as a natural corollary, by the royal family, and its members wield enormous power and influence over the state of affairs.

MBS, the eldest son of the King, ordered the arrest of some leading personalities of the kingdom including Princes, Ministers and a top business tycoon. The list of those detained includes the name of Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, one of the richest people in West Asia.

His investment ranges from Twitter, Apple, News Corporation, Citigroup, the Four Seasons hotel chain and Lyft. Former Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf, a board member of the Saudi Aramco Oil Company, Economy Minister Abdel Fakieh and Bakr bin Laden of the Bin Laden group (brother of Osama bin Laden) are among the others in the list.

These arrests are viewed as a move to consolidate Crown Prince's position and to turn him into the most powerful leader ever in the country. The Crown Prince has also replaced the head of the Saudi National Guard as well as the Navy Chief.

The dramatic purge occurred amid unprecedented social and economic transformation in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, as Prince Mohammed steps up his reform drive for a post-oil era, reports emanating from the kingdom suggest.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported that the princes, four current ministers and dozens of ex-ministers were arrested as the commission launched a probe into old cases such as floods that devastated the Red Sea city of Jeddah in 2009. The state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said the commission’s goal was to “preserve public money, punish corrupt people and those who exploit their positions.”

What is interesting is the breadth and scale of the arrests which is unprecedented in the modern history of Saudi Arabia. Prince Al-Waleed's detention has shocked the local and international community.

The Prince is the face of Saudi business with networth standing at $ 17 billion. His investments to lifestyle – Forbes magazine described in 2013 his marble-filled 420-room Riyadh palace, a private Boeing 747 equipped with a throne and his 120 acre resort on the edge of the Saudi capital with five homes, five artificial lakes and a min-Grand Canyon (just imagine this one) – have always been talk of the town.

All this was a part of 'heralding an era of transparency, clarity and accountability", Saudi Finance Minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan described it.
Interestingly, it is said that MBS has been closely following the moves of some world leaders including Xi Jinping of late.

The power consolidation strategy of Xi and his careful manoeuvres might have impressed the Crown Prince, but his resolve seems to have been strengthened more by his Western outlook.

It is clear that MBS quietly joined forces with Jade Kushner, Trump’s Advisor and son-in-law, even before Donald Trump took office to mend US-Saudi relations strained by President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, which the Saudis opposed.

When President Trump arrived in Riyadh sometime back on his first trip abroad, Kushner and MBS kept a close eye on the President and the king during a long day of ceremonial and substantive events and the signing of a $110-billion arms deal. MBS' influence also stems from the fact that, unlike his counterparts who are all Western educated, he is educated entirely in Saudi Arabia.

An outspoken figure in his conservative society he has crafted ambitious "Saudi Vision 2030" to modernise his country with a tectonic shift from oil dependence to greener energy sources while diversifying the economy and improving and expanding the military and women's rights (of late he has put women behind the wheels too).

The vision is all over the country on every billboard and media, all of course, with the blessings of the king. If the White House has put a finger on the Saudi Royal politics, it is there for everyone to see and it has never been done by the US.

The Crown Prince thus is making news for the political things he is doing and not for the flashy tastes of his as other princes often did. There lies the difference to Saudi politics. MBS has championed the Saudi-led coalition that is battling Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen and is building a regional coalition against Islamic extremists and regional enemy Iran, an endeavour that clearly puts him in sync with Trump.

All this makes him connect well with the young Saudis giving them hope for the future. As Muna Abusulayman, host of a popular Suadi talk show, put it, "Saudi still has Bedouins, nomads and scientists doing projects with NASA. The culture is ancient, but the country is not. This is the first time the country has synergy" (in MBS).

Yes, Saudi has at the helm, a young, forward-looking, daring leader who is not afraid to speak his mind. And the Saudis are loving this wealthy tycoon and his populist insurgency!

By W Chandrakanth