Brian Whitaker, the Guardian's Middle East editor, explores the implications for Saudi Arabia of the death of King Fahd and the succession of Crown Prince Abdullah. He writes:
As a result of King Fahd's long illness, Abdullah has already been in day-to-day charge of the kingdom for the best part of a decade. Now that he has formally taken over as monarch, it is doubtful how much difference this will make.
His authority will be increased to some extent but key decisions tend to be made collectively by core members of the royal family - some of whom have progressive ideas and some of whom are extremely reactionary.
The real question for the future is how - and when - power will be transferred to a younger generation.
Read the full article here.
