| Saudi Liberal |
2 June 2003
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Saudi Prince Calls for Reform
Talal bin Abdelaziz is not the twentieth hijacker, nor is he in the deck of cards portraying the most wanted of the Saddamite regime in Iraq. Rather, he is a liberal member of the Saudi royal house (he is King Fahds's half-brother) who has called for reform. Specifically, he has said the Shura, an unelected advisory council with no real authority, should have the power to question the government, review the budget and amend the constitution. He is both realistic and right.
As reported by Roula Khalif in the Financial Times, the Prince stated, "The opening cannot be as the liberal intellectuals want; you cannot have elections overnight, there's never been democracy here. But what you can do is start by making the Shura council a legislative body, as it should be, and let it discuss issues openly and prepare for parliamentary life." From his lips to Allah's ear.
Democracy now would devolving into "one man, one vote, one time." But if one draws a parallel between the Shura now and England's Parliament in the 1500s, the situation is clear. The idea, of course, would be for the Saudi King to avoid the mistakes of Charles I. There will come a time when the Shura's successor, a real parliament, will want real power. To resist would be a disaster the result of which is a foregone conclusion.
The Prince, of course, is a good politician and has appealed to the royal family in ways that will strike a chord. The FT also quoted him as saying, "You can get a lost of our demands [on regional issues] from the west if you reform internally and have most of the people with you." Smart fellow.