King Fahd Fountain, Jeddah. January 2017
[from FB post: April 23, 2017]
Notes from Saudi Arabia:
There was a royal decree last night that restored everyone's salary to previous levels. The Minister of Civil Service was sacked and is being investigated. Most likely it was done because the population was feeling the pinch and getting restive. And you never want these people restive....
There is a big match tonight between Barcelona and Real Madrid. They put both banners up at the coffee shop in anticipation of the game and the many patrons. Take note that the cross in the FC Barcelona logo has been airbrushed into a "bar" here in KSA as it is illegal even to SHOW a cross (no matter how small and insignificant).
And it was announced that all exams in all government schools (including my own) must be completed before Ramadan which means I lose three weeks of teaching immediately and I basically have to tie everything up this week (with one day notice).
This is life in a monarchy ruled by decree.
It is all quite normal here
King Abdulaziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, was a legend. Upon his death it was agreed that the crown would go to each of his sons in succession. The man had a lot of sons, some just teenagers when he neared death, so what to do AFTER all his sons bore the crown was literally not his concern. Since Abdulaziz' passing, Saudi Arabia and the world have lived through the quirkiness of the parade of Saudi Kings. The Saudis tell stories about all of them (safe to do after they are dead) and what they excelled at and where they fell short. Conspiracy theories abounded about their deaths with lots of palace intrigue - even the Windsors would smile. I entered the Kingdom under Abdullah and departed under Salman.
Abdullah was a jolly old guy who spent the windfall of oil money on the Saudi royal family (ever expanding) and development projects across the country. Both uses of said cash surplus were, as the Saudis would say, "pissing in the sand". Many of his economic initiatives remain to this day well-intended yet either ineffectual or incomplete. The number of royals to be maintained in luxury exploded as princesses begat more princes. The country was literally hemorrhaging money.
As part of Abdullah's development plan, he sent many young men (and a few women) overseas for education to modernize the thinking of the Kingdom. It was a noble effort indeed, but he forgot two things: one, Saudi culture was quite resilient. Saudis would become model citizens abroad in their host countries and returned to the Kingdom to be "normal Saudis" again, unchanged. They had, for lack of a better expression, a paid-for sabbatical to live outside of restrictive Saudi Arabia for up to a decade, nothing more. Returnees had NO desire to fight for change - they just wanted a relaxed life together with their extended families. The second thing King Abdullah failed to take into account was that Saudi Arabia's economy could NEVER absorb all those returning young people with advanced degrees. There simply were no jobs. That was and continues to be a disaster.
King Abdullah named one of his own sons to be the King AFTER his brother Salman cycled through kingship as the last son of Abdulaziz. That royal proclamation was made "unchangeable by anyone". Very shortly after Abdullah passed, Salman made sure that his own heir-apparent, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), was named officially as his successor. I am not sure if Abdullah believed that people would follow his wishes after his death, or if it was just a stunt to make his son feel good? Apparently, Abdullah's heir was paid off handsomely and probably lives in a villa in Bellagio, Italy. I would definitely choose money and a good life over the headache of ruling Saudi Arabia.
King Salman was old when he ascended the throne. I was in Dubai on vacation when Abdullah passed and friends messaged me on social media about it. "What was going to happen??" Well, I got a day or two off work, that's it. Salman took the throne without much fuss and MBS started to rule in his stead almost immediately. Think of Saudi Arabia now as being something like "Weekend at Bernie's". Salman is not dead, but nearly so. They just prop him up to wave on occasion to show everyone he is still alive. There is no question that MBS runs the show.
The first thing MBS did was a "royal shakedown". He invited all his royal siblings and cousins to an important meeting at the Ritz Carlton, Riyadh (I have been there - wow!!). He basically locked the doors and said, "hand it all back, guys - the party is over - and you aren't leaving till you do". MBS understood that with fluctuating oil prices he could never continue to guarantee such a luxurious lifestyle to the ever-expanding royal circle. There was some nervousness in the country at that time, but the military was behind MBS and the USA behind the Saudi military. One by one, they agreed to become "mortal" and hand back massive amounts of wealth. The last hold out was Al Waleed bin Talal - the richest of them all. He played that waiting game in Riyadh's most luxurious hotel for months. He at last caved in as well and out of spite stopped work on his "Jeddah Tower" project which was to become the tallest building in the world. Apparently no glamor projects for Saudi Arabia if he had anything to do with it.
Finally, MBS's own royal madness has been his pet project "Neom City" in the north of the country stretching from the Red Sea inland. It is to be a car-less (in Saudi?? they make LA residents blush in their addiction to cars), linear city of the future served internally by high speed rail. If he succeeds, the project could be amazing. People laughed at Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai when he started his grand plan to make Dubai into a financial and entertainment capital. Look at Dubai now. Stranger things have happened and Neom could be the next Dubai. However, in a country strewn with failed projects or projects that never lived up to their potential, MBS is taking a big risk (and a big chunk of oil revenue with it).
At least he has a really big golden parachute if fails or is it hard to make a soft landing when your parachute is made of gold, literally?