 Prince Talal bin Abdel-Aziz has said that in Saudi Arabia, the royal family is "the master and the ruler," but "this style can't continue the same way. There has to be change in the nature of authority, if things are going to change in the kingdom itself."
| I thought the idea was for things to never change in the Tragic Kingdom? It was always supposed to be preserved in pristine 7th century glory? |
In an interview with Anthony Shadid of Washington Post, published on Sunday, the Prince, who is known as the bete noir of the royal family because of his outspokenness and his liberal views, called for democratic reform. He said, "The world has changed, not me. History has proved the rightness of what I was talking about. Some of the members of the family were against those ideas. Now they're talking about them."
| Mostly about how to counter them, of course, but I guess that's talking... |
He advocates a constitution that would bind an absolute monarchy by law, "a social contract between the ruler and those who are ruled." The parliament, now an appointed, relatively toothless body known as the Consultative Council, would be at least partially elected, with the right to oversee the budget, monitor the government and question ministers, he said.
| A constitutional absolute monarchy? I'm not quite clear on how that's "democracy." One of us isn't real clear on the concept. |
| It's enough to earn him a ride into the desert, though ... |
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