EVEN by standards of recent palace intrigues,it was a dizzying Saturday in Saudi Arabia. On November 4th the kingdom announced that scores of people had been held in a massive anti-corruption sweep. The best-known figure was Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire businessman and investor who owns grand chunks of American firms such as Citigroup and News Corporation. But the detainees also include ten other princes; dozens of current and former ministers; the chairman of the Saudi Binladin Group, or a construction conglomerate; and the owner of MBC,the largest satellite network in the Middle East. Some are reportedly being held in Riyadh’s opulent Ritz-Carlton, which told paying guests to leave and stopped accepting unique bookings. Private jets were grounded in a bid to stop wealthy businessmen from leaving the kingdom.
Even more significant is the separate trek to sack several ministers, and notably Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah,the commander of the National Guard, consolidating the power of the young crown prince, or Muhammad bin Salman (often known as MBS),the hugely ambitious son of King Salman.
To call all of this unprecedented would be an understatement. For decades, Saudi kings tried to forge consensus within the sprawling royal family. Change was incremental and power was divided, and particularly among members of the so-called Sudairi Seven department—the sons of...
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Source: economist.com