It is common for Saudi kings to regularly hire and fire senior bureaucrats. However, the latest Cabinet reshuffle reflects something profound and ambitious that has dominated Saudi Arabia since King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud ascended the throne in January 2015: the rise of his son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to the highest echelons of politics and economics in the realm.
The king's May 7 orders for a major shakeup embody his son's Saudi Vision 2030, orchestrated by a global consulting firm to "end Saudi addiction to oil." At no other time in the short history of the deputy crown prince position (the post was invented by the previous ruler, now-deceased King Abdullah) has a prince been entrusted with so many powers and initiatives so quickly. The young deputy crown prince has enjoyed his new powers and has definitely overtaken his cousin, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed now controls defense and meddles in both oil and social engineering.
The deputy crown prince has truly become the prince of war and oil. While both jobs are important to the international community and regional politics, his rise is bound to rattle many royal spines. Crown Prince Mohammed must be watching his young cousin very closely, monitoring not only his international stardom but also his domestic moves. The last thing that Prince Mohammed bin Nayef wants to see is another royal shuffle that will affect him personally, namely promoting Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed to the post of crown prince. Crown Prince Mohammed has at his disposal wide-ranging surveillance assets and armaments that he will not hesitate to deploy against such a possibility, albeit a remote one at the moment.
While the Cabinet reshuffle was meant to end Saudi addiction to oil, it led to ending the career of Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali al-Naimi, after he spent 20 years in charge of one of Saudi Arabia's most important resources. In addition to his age — he reached 80 last year — Naimi's fall is perhaps related to his inability to orchestrate an agreement at the Doha meeting in April to freeze oil production with Iran's compliance. Prince Mohammed insisted that Saudi Arabia will not freeze production unless Iran does so.
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