Saudi Arabia buries a prince and Egypt plunges into post-election turmoil
‘Two pillars of the state are gone, but the regime in Saudi Arabia stands strong,’ writes one columnist
Elhanan Miller is the former Arab affairs reporter for The Times of Israel
Despite the dramatic developments in Egypt and Syria, the burial of Saudi Crown Prince Nayef tops Arab news on Monday.
“Saudi Arabia and the world bid farewell to Prince Nayef,” reads the headline of Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat. According to the daily, the prince was buried in a “simple ceremony” in a Mecca cemetery.
London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi looks to the future with its headline reading “Saudi Arabia buries its ‘strong man’ and a battle begins to select his heir.” The daily opines that prince Salman, minister of defense and another son of Saudi Arabia’s founder Abdul Aziz, will be appointed as crown prince.
Many editorials Monday analyze the future of Saudi leadership following Nayef’s death.
“From his office in the interior ministry, Prince Nayef observed the successive earthquakes in the region over the past 40 years, monitoring their effect and mobilizing to prevent their harm,” eulogizes Al-Hayat editor-in-chief Ghassan Cherbel.
‘Two pillars of the state are gone, but the regime in Saudi Arabia stands strong for it is an establishment, not an individual’
In an editorial titled “The Saudi challenge,” A-Sharq Al-Awsat columnist Abd Al-Rahman Rashed recalls the success of Prince Nayef in averting an Iranian attempt to sow sectarian strife during the Haj pilgrimage in the 1980s.
“It is difficult for any political institution in the world to to overcome major consecutive shocks such as the passing of crown prince Sultan seven months ago and now the shock in the death of prince Nayef,” writes Rashed. “Two pillars of the state are gone, but the regime in Saudi Arabia stands strong for it is an establishment, not an individual.”
Al-Quds Al-Arabi, an anti-monarchic pan-Arab daily, agrees that Nayef’s death will not destabilize Saudi Arabia.
“The absence of Prince Nayef will leave a gaping void at the summit of power, but we do not believe that it will create a crisis of leadership within the ruling family surrounding his succession,” reads the lead editorial.
Dubai-based news channel Al-Arabiya interviews a number of Saudi officials and intellectuals praising Prince Nayef for his involvement in humanitarian and youth issues, in addition to his well-known activities in the domain of Saudi national security.
Egypt and preliminary voting results
Arab newspapers went to print before the preliminary results of the Egyptian presidential vote began to emerge. Nevertheless, Egypt’s political future features high in Arab news coverage Monday.
“Egypt prepares for its new president and the vow will take place before the constitutional court,” reads the headline of A-Sharq Al-Awsat, which features a photo of Egyptian men standing in line to vote. According to the daily, “confusion” is overtaking the Egyptian street and some voters hesitated about their choice all the way to the polls.
“Egypt awaits the name of the president, and the military prepares to confront protests,” reads the headline of Al-Hayat. The article features two soldiers blocking the way of a mass of Egyptian women.
“Does the Brotherhood want to isolate Tantawi?” asks Al-Hayat columnist Abdallah Iskandar Monday, referring to the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed forces, the de facto ruler of Egypt.
“Egyptians will not decide the nature of their forthcoming regime through the ballot box yesterday and today,” writes Iskandar.
“Although the SCAF succeeded in imposing a road map since February 2011… all these moves did not conclusively resolve any of the issues at hand.”
‘The state of confusion in meanings is a general condition of Egypt which is going through major transformations’
Egyptian intellectual Mamoun Fandy, who in the past proposed postponing the elections, uses the existence of an Egyptian “department of drinking water and sewage” as an illustration of what he describes as a state of mental and cultural confusion prevalent in Egypt. He says Egyptians simply do not know how to accept constructive criticism.
“The state of confusion in meanings is a general condition of Egypt which is going through major transformations,” Fandy writes. “Either extreme anger or complete disregard. Those are permanent Egyptian conditions which will not change in this revolution, nor in the preceding one nor in the next one,” Fandi writes in A-Sharq Al-Awsat.
Egyptian dailies are no less dramatic Monday.
“The people have voted, and Egypt awaits its ‘destiny,'” reads the headline of Egyptian independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. An ironic article about SCAF’s new constitutional declaration is titled “SCAF hands over power to SCAF.”
