Quote Originally Posted by Showtime View Post
I think that equilibrium point is long gone at this point. They have been declared apostates by the militants, and are now finding themselves in direct conflict with them in Yemen, so that’s a first. It's possible the deputy crown prince becomes king by the end of the year, he is known to be pro-western and not anti-Israel in order to be favored over the actual crown prince, who's the minister of interior and in charge of dealing with stuff like this. If bin Salman (deputy cp) succeeds, there will be resistance by hardline salafis as he has already stripped many privileges of the religious police and is planning to muzzle the clergy on a number of things for his economic reform plans, which includes women doing more and getting long overdue basic rights. Interior minister, on the other hand, has a vested interest in being conservative as it makes his counterterrorism job easier, which is why the US might even take his side due to his reputable talent in cracking down on terrorists.

This is basically a result of monarchical rift, arguably the same thing that caused the war in Yemen and is prolonging it. Inside the country itself, the supposedly liberal Saudi prince is rendering “moral” servants irrelevant to strengthen private sector and lessen oil dependence, and salafis aren’t having it. They want their jobs that require no skills seem as important as possible so they don’t lose the Saudi youth.
Fair comment. We are seeing the various parties pushing to establish a new equilibrium point -- you are correct that things are a bit "up in the air" at present. The Salafists will use a bit of violence to remind the "young turk" prince of the cost of too much change or secularism. Clan Saud must counter to establish the limits of control by the salafists.