As world leaders and dignitaries gathered yesterday in Riyadh to pay their last respects to the late King Fahd, elsewhere his death unleashed a torrent of speculation about what it will mean for Saudi Arabia. Nowhere was that more so than in the Western media. They burst forth like a torrent, heading in all directions. It would mean constitutional changes and more reform; other voices claimed it would mean a lessening of ties with the West and a more determinedly pro-Arab stance; yet others imagined it would result in changes in oil policy and higher oil prices.
In political terms, the death of King Fahd and the accession of King Abdullah will mean one thing only. It will mean continuity. The succession has been a seamless transition, as those who genuinely understand Saudi Arabia knew it would. But as to policy, there is no transition. All remains the same. The Kingdom’s oil policy — ensuring market stability — stands unchanged; the Kingdom’s plans to create jobs, its policy of Saudization, stand unchanged; the Kingdom’s dedication to ensuring a just peace for the Palestinians (and ultimately for the Israelis), its dedication to peace and stability in Lebanon, in Sudan, in Iraq — all stand unchanged. Its determination to crush terrorism and eradicate religious deviancy stands unchanged.
Saudi Arabia is a monarchy based on consensus, on listening to and noting the views of all sections of society and formulating policy accordingly. If and when the consensus changes, then policies will change. But not before. For the moment, nothing — neither consensus nor policy — has changed.
It was, in any case, illogical to imagine that the accession of King Abdullah would change anything. As crown prince, he was always fully involved in evaluating and devising Saudi policy. That was part of the consensus system. Amendments, yes, to meet changed circumstances. But the basics remained the same. Its alliances remained the same. The goals of oil-price stability, of economic growth and job creation, continued to be pursued. Regional policy remained the same, not just in terms of commitment to justice and a state for the Palestinians, but equally in the means to achieve it. There was no difference between the Fahd Plan presented to the Arab summit in Fez in 1981 and the Abdullah Initiative unveiled in 2002. Both envisaged an Israeli withdrawal from all territories captured in 1967, the creation in those territories of a Palestinian state and the recognition of Israel’s right to exist.
Likewise there has been no difference between the new king’s support for evolutionary reform and the constitutional policies of the late king. His establishment in 1992 of the Majlis Al-Shoura, the Consultative Council, started the process going.
Arab unity, Islamic unity, justice for the Palestinians, regional stability, political reform, economic development and progress. These were King Fahd’s goals. They are King Abdullah’s goals. The Kingdom is assured continuity — and through continuity, stability; and with stability, growth.
