Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
বাংলা
   
Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Epaper

A prince minus Machiavelli!

Published : Tuesday, 2 August, 2022 at 12:00 AM  Count : 1245
Shahriar Feroze
Shahriar Feroze

Shahriar Feroze

As I keep watching in the fashion European governments are courting Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman - only one question keeps hovering in mind.

How would have Niccolo Machiavelli composed "The Prince" had he lived and met MBS today?

He probably would have penned a sequel under the title "The Crown Prince."

May sound as a weird question to some, but the epic Machiavelli saying - Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you are - nowadays applies one hundred percent in the case of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.

Globally vilified to the extreme degree for allegedly murdering a journalist in a foreign land, just see how remarkably the Saudi Royal has reinstated his image to the Western countries.

Whether you want to brand MBS as a villain, manipulator or a tyrant is your choice. But the Saudi Prince has, however, re-emerged as an apparent saviour to Western leaders not because of his dynamic reforms at home or jet set diplomacy, but because of the billions of barrels of Black Gold stored beneath his feet.

In whatever manner Mr Biden had threatened to turn the crown prince into a pariah prior assuming office, his experience during the recent visit was manifestly not pleasing. And when it comes to the much hyped fist-bump between the two leaders, it looked a fist-bump between a robust Arab Stallion and an old war horse of the previous century or even millennium.

Not only had MBS refused to pump more oil, deal with Israel according to his own terms or disagreed with Biden's stance on Iran - he taunted Biden for his marked silence on the brutal killing of Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh.

He not only counter-slapped the US president, but also advised the US government to stop imposing its 'American' notion of values and human rights on other countries.

Now let's peer into how Europe got off the high horse by courting MBS. What has so massively changed in the last three and half years since the killing of journalist Jamal Khasshogji?

No, he hasn't resurrected but Europe's economic, energy and geopolitical realty has dramatically changed because of the Russia-Ukraine War, more specifically because of Mr Putin's cutting off gas supplies.

The European Union had decided to take on Mr Putin, it happened the other way round.

In particular, though photos of dimly lit German cities appeared somewhat gothic and charming to this writer, but lest we forget winter kicked the Germans out of Russia and a similar winter is in the offing to punish the Germans by switching off the gas taps.

However, look into the binge of hospitality offered to MBS during his Europe tour. Greece has signed a spree of bilateral agreements with Saudi Arabia. This writer is almost sure - Socrates, Aristotle or Plato would have collapsed, had they lived today. Moreover, I wouldn't be surprised if a statue of MBS is erected any place near the acropolis any time soon.

During his visit to France, I repeatedly watched the warm handshake between the two leaders inside the Élysée Palace Premises. The 20 second plus or minus handshake scene seemed like as if MBS had conquered France and the handshake is only a matter of formality before the surrender documents are signed. I wonder what napoleon would have done had he been in place of Mr Macron.

The point, however, the Domino effects of the Russia-Ukraine War has placed MBS on the right place and at the right time to assert his energy power over USA and the European Union.

On a personal note, I expect the MBS to act in line in the likes of the late Saudi King Faisal who had delivered a tit-for-tat response by imposing oil embargo on USA. Obviously that response came under different circumstances and in the aftermath of a different war and under a valiant Saudi King.

So far, it appears he would least likely crumble to American and European energy demands. All eyes by now are fixed on OPEC plus meeting and with Russia, undeniably, its most important member.

In a matter of 48 hours the crown prince is likely to play the next oil card up his sleeve which is likely to deliver a dramatic outcome.
With 220,000 barrels of Russian oil entering the kingdom per day, and Saudi production stretching the ceiling to 13 million barrels of crude per month; it is not too difficult to predict the outcome of the OPEC plus meeting.

The war by now has actually turned MBS into a politician-cum-businessman, placing him right under the spotlight. On one hand, coupled with Kremlin he is taking Mr Biden for a ride while on the other he managed to kept oil production and exports stable at home by importing cheap Russian oil for power generation.  

The billion dollar question here, can MBS walk the sincere and straight Faisal line though at a different time, amid a different war to have triggered a different energy crisis.

Nevertheless, the shrewdly calculated war has taken such a dramatic shift with regional and wider political-cum-economic implications, now it all seems like an energy war waged under a thin veil of military adventurism.

While the war keep progressing with whatever Russian territorial gains, the Western leaders, one after another, keep appearing similar to Oscar Wilde's iconic hedonistic character Dorian Gray.    

At least one good outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war is that it has laid bare the true face of western democracy, values and humanitarian rights, and right now it is MBS who is re-defining Machiavelli's "Prince" though with an added 'Crown'. Apart from being a noun and a verb, he has surely added an adjective to it.

The MBS has now manifestly held up a mirror in front of Western leaders - taunting them to ask what is more important right now - is it my oil or shedding crocodile tears crying for justice for a slain Saudi journalist.

As far as the oil card is concerned, the Saudi crown prince has so far played a cautious and a diligent game, but then again Machiavelli sneaks in - it suddenly erupts at a time when the chaotic load shedding hour is continuing in my area - whispering, never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception. It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.
The writer is assistant editor, the Daily Observer














LATEST NEWS
MOST READ
Also read
Omicron BF.7
2022 stories that could still have an impact on our lives
Dealing environment with data
Foreign interference in internal affairs
Management factor in our health sector
Diplomatic norms and code of conduct through the lens of international law
Dealing air pollution in winter
Germany to suspend humanitarian aid for Afghanistan
Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Online: 41053014; Advertisement: 41053012.
E-mail: district@dailyobserverbd.com, news©dailyobserverbd.com, advertisement©dailyobserverbd.com, For Online Edition: mailobserverbd©gmail.com
🔝
close