Saudi king names son as heir to throne

Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was named to replace his cousin as heir to the throne in a shake-up that consolidates the 31-year-old leader’s power in the world’s biggest oil exporter.
 

The king’s decision to elevate his son, who already controlled the defense, oil and economy portfolios, was supported by 31 out of 34 members of the Allegiance Council, made up of senior members of the ruling Al Saud family. In a royal decree, King Salman also relieved Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef from his post as Interior Minister.
 

The decision settles what many analysts had described as a power struggle between Prince Mohammed, who has led an aggressive expansion of the country’s foreign policy, and his cousin. The elevation of the king’s son, known as MBS, came sooner than many expected. Prince Muhammad bin Nayef backed the royal decrees in a letter to King Salman, according to a senior Saudi official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
 

“Prince Mohammed bin Salman has really been the powerful man in Saudi Arabia ever since his appointment as deputy crown prince,” Ghanem Nuseibeh, founder of Cornerstone Global Associates, said by phone. The decision “removes impediments that he had, in that he had someone more senior to him who was perhaps a bit more conservative. Now he’ll have a freer hand," Nuseibeh said.
 

The change gives Prince Mohammed greater authority to pursue his plan to reduce the kingdom’s reliance on oil, which includes selling a stake in oil giant Saudi Aramco and putting other assets under the control of a sovereign wealth fund he also heads. As defense minister, the prince oversees the war in Yemen against pro-Iranian Shiite rebels. He’s also a key figure in the current standoff with Qatar.

State television aired a video showing Prince Mohammed bin Nayef pledging his allegiance in a meeting with the new crown prince. The younger prince bent down on his knees before his cousin and repeatedly kissed his hand.
 

"May god help you," Prince Mohammed bin Nayef told him. "I can’t do without your instructions," the younger price replied.

The decrees were issued hours after the dawn meal that starts the daily fast in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and the streets of downtown Riyadh were quiet Wednesday morning, with no sign of increased security presence.
 

King Salman also retroactively reinstated all allowances and bonuses that were canceled or suspended to civil servants and military personnel, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
 

Saudi Arabia has been grappling with a drop in crude prices that have plunged 60 percent in the past three years, prompting the government to cut spending and tap bond market to reduce a budget deficit that ballooned to about 15 percent of economic output. MSCI Inc. last night included the kingdom in its watch list for potential upgrade to emerging markets index. The benchmark Tadawul stock index has fallen 3.6 percent this year.
 

"Saudi has tried to assert its authority over a range of regional events, and by cementing the question of succession at this time, the region is on notice that this direction will be pursued for the long term," said Rodger Shanahan, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney.
 

"MBS’s youth means that there will be no interim succession - he will be in power for a long time and has been a very public proponent of a robust Saudi presence in the region."