Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
In a meeting of state authorities Arab from Riyadh on Tuesday (14/12), King Salman | bin Abdulaziz was nowhere to be seen. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) who welcomes the guests.
The meeting was attended by leaders from Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.
Citing The Guardian, King Salman has only shown himself once in public in the last 20 months. Salman was last seen visiting Riyadh in August 2020 for gallbladder surgery.
In an event with foreign representatives, Salman last met British deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab.
Meanwhile, when French President Emmanuel Macron visited the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Salman did not welcome Macron. Macron was even greeted by MbS.
Macron’s visit, which comes three years after the world was shocked by the case of The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, is a pivotal moment for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is experiencing a global fall as a result of the scandal.
The Guardian assesses Salman is now king in absentia and does not appear to be doing his job. Meanwhile, MBS is considered to be in control of Saudi Arabia’s power.
Salman’s absence raises questions about the king’s health. Salman is said to have started suffering from late-onset vascular dementia, whose symptoms are said to be mild.
“This is of course an excuse for MbS to keep his father (from the government). He must be running the government of Saudi Arabia. His father is not,” said the former western intelligence, quoted from The Guardian.
When announcing the royal budget, Salman was seen speaking slowly and incoherently.
“He (MbS) has cleared his way to the coronation,” the former intelligence official said of the crown prince.
“Covid or not, no one can deny that the king is not only lost in the act (of government), but is likely out of business.”
(pwn / bac)
– .
