Beirut: Within a short week after his accession to the throne, King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud issued 30 decrees that reorganised his government and, more importantly, ushered in a new team of technocrats to run various ministries. Whether the reshuffle of senior religious officials was a reflection of the monarch’s more conservative views or, more likely, whether King Salman opted to keep ultra-conservative clerics close to him to better influence them, was open to debate.
What should not be taken out of context, however, was the ruler’s desire to see the serene operation of innate mechanisms in place to handle highly contentious issues — like the application of Sharia in the case of blogger Raif Badawi, or women driving or similar trigger-concerns.
While many observers of the kingdom were surprised to see Prince Mohammad Bin Salman picked to fill two vital posts, the Ministry of Defence as well running the Royal Court, and while no surprises came with the reappointment of Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Salman as Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, many were aghast to see so many fresh faces catapulted to the forefront.
By all accounts, what stood out were two complementary objectives: For King Salman to stamp his preferences in place and to usher in younger faces who will assume their fair share of the governance burden.
By no means do these replacements slow down the pace of ‘reforms’ in the country that, for all practical purposes, are set to proceed.
What will change is stylistic — certainly a royal prerogative.
