Why there are signs of a Saudi return to tradition | Financial Times

Why there are signs of a Saudi return to tradition | Financial Times:

There are three possible explanations for what has been happening in Saudi Arabia over the past few weeks. Confusing moves include the fall in oil production in July, when it was supposed to be rising in line with public commitments. The long-promised IPO of the state oil company Aramco has been postponed indefinitely and meanwhile Aramco is reluctantly preparing to buy the state-controlled chemicals business Sabic.

An unnecessary conflict has opened up in response to some mild Canadian comments on Saudi’s human rights record. And the Public Investment Fund, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, may or may not have committed to provide the funds to help Elon Musk take Tesla private.

The first explanation for all this is that because of illness or some other incapacity neither King Salman nor his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are in full control, leaving the individual agencies that run the country without clear leadership.