Survey shows most Saudis hope Bin Salman won't take power

About one million people took part in the survey, Geopolitics Aalert wrote, and here is an outline of some of the results:

- 91 percent of people want the Al Saud family to keep ruling the kingdom and 9 percent want a regime change.

- Saudi citizens think that Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, Muhammad bin Nayef, Mohammad Bin Salman, and Mutaib bin Abdullah are the most popular politicians based on their personality, former positions and their status in the tribe.

- Saudi Arabia’s international image has been badly tarnished over the last year, especially after the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Moreover, Mohammad Bin Salman’s development plans inside the framework of the 2030 Agenda turned out as a failure. Now, 53 percent of Saudi citizens believe if Ahmed bin Abdulaziz comes to power, he might be able to repair Saudi’s destroyed image.

- 30 percent of Saudi citizens think Muhammad bin Nayef is a good replacement for Mohammad Bin Salman because they believe Nayef did a good job as the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Saudi Arabia.

- Saudi citizens think that Muhammad bin Nayef is also a good candidate for becoming Saudi’s next king because he can restore some of the powers of the Al ash-Sheikh and revive some of the long-lost religious and cultural traditions.

- Most Saudis think that Mohammad Bin Salman has done a poor job over the last few years and only 14 percent of people think he is a good candidate for becoming the next king. The wrong policies of Mohammad Bin Salman have exasperated some of the issues such as poverty, unemployment, and inflation and have led to widespread corruption and immorality in society; many social, political and religious activists were executed over his term. His policies have also made Saudi Arabia fail in many of its key confrontations in the Middle East, such as the Yemen War.

- Finally, 3 percent of Saudis want Mutaib bin Abdullah to gain power. He is the third son of King Abdullah and served as Saudi’s Minister of the National Guard.

While it’s not clear how much these factors will matter since Saudi Arabia doesn’t have a democracy it seems that once MBS takes power he may lack the stability he has promised.

MNA/PR