Alwaght- While Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia bolder than any other time is eliminating the opposition and rivals, especially the princes opposing his assumption of the throne after his father, the largest bloc of European Parliament called for the immediate disclosure of the fate of the former Saudi crown prince, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, and his protection from killing by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In the new round of opponents liquidation, in an extremist move, bin Salman arrested many of his royal opponents, the most important of them the former Crown Minister Muhammad bin Nayef who served in the post from April 29, 2015, to June 21, 2017.
Reports emanating from inside the royal family have said that bin Nayef is suffering from “critical heart condition” as a result of a failure by the detainers to save his health.
The Europeans in a clear message called on bin Salman to make clarifications about the fate of his cousin. But why are the Europeans making such a request in the current situation? Three reasons could stand as drives behind their request.
Europeans oppose Prince Mohammed ascending the throne
In the current conditions, the request by the largest European Paraliemmnt bloc the European People’s Party to disclose the fate of the former crown prince bears a clear negative signal of Europe to bin Salman ascension of the throne in the Arab kingdom. Important points surrounding bin Salman being a crown prince are that just against his predecessors he has substantial opposition inside the royal family and he concentrates all of his efforts on saving the US and European support for him to assume his father’s post.
Bin Salman knows very well that if he lacks foreign support, making his way to the throne will be a difficult job. And even if he becomes a king, if the West opposes him, his position and programs will be undermined.
So far many of the European countries, contrary to the US, have implied their opposition to the reign of bin Salman. Recently, they appear to have intensified their opposition. In the past few weeks, there have been reports about the critical condition of King Salman. In such an atmosphere, the Europeans have brazenly expressed their opposition to Prince Mohammed. They are fed up with his extremism and crackdown on the opposition, which reached a climactic point with the assassination of his outspoken critic Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Investigations found that the death squad that killed and dismembered Khashoggi was sent by the crown prince himself.
The Democratic Party riddle and possible loss of Trump
Since taking the post of the crown prince in 2017, bin Salman offered heavy grafts to the US to pursue his ambitious plans both at home and abroad. One of the most important works the radical de facto ruler has so far done on the strength of US President Donald Trump is the elimination of opposition at home. As the polls in the US show bad results to Trump in competition against the Democratic rival Joe Biden, bin Salman is stepping up his crackdown on the opposition to get rid of them once forever. After all, he knows that Biden and other Democrats are opposed to his assumption of the king post. The Europeans seem to know about his intention and thus struggle to prevent the elimination of bin Nayef.
Warning to bin Salman to save the life of bin Nayef
While only four months separate bin Salman from the US elections, the Europeans want to pass a message to the crown prince, telling him that he is responsible for the life of the former crown prince who is in custody by an order from Prince Mohammed. This message means that the Europeans are opposed to him and intend to, should Trump lose the election, tighten the rope for bin Salman so that bin Nayed restores his position. Actually, bin Nayef’s survival before bin Salman ascends the throne can represent a lasting nightmare to his dream of becoming a king. This dream can be shattered by potential pressures from US Democrats and the Europeans in the near future.
