New Saudi King to take a different stance?

[zenfive]

With the new Saudi King coming into power, there has been speculation about whether or not he will simply continue to hold the same stance as his predecessor on issues of global and local importance. He is known to be slightly more conservative, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the issues brought to him.

What do you think? Will he just carry on the same sort of philosophy and principles, and not make any drastically different decisions, or will he take an alternate stance?

 

[J.G.]

With regard to many things, I think we can expect his position to remain much the same as that of his late half-brother. In his recent talk with Obama, he seemed not to suggest any major changes in the works. With regard to oil (the concern of most Americans, I'm sure), he doesn't seem to want any big changes. However, he also didn't outright disagree with potential US plans to discourage nuclear development in Iran, so there's that.

 

[kestas57]

He did say that he would ensure that oil stayed below $100 per barrel for as long as he was in power. He obviously wants to establish his power early on in his reign but I don't foresee much difference in his policies both domestic and foreign. From what I can tell Saudi politics are rather conservative.