Saudi King May Go to Spain--and Stay
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia may soon leave on a trip to Spain and never come back, completing a gradual transition of authority to his half brother, Time magazine reported Sunday.
The king fell ill in November with a reported stroke. He returned from official convalescence on Jan. 1, but the magazine, citing a diplomat it did not identify, said Fahd suffers dementia.
Fahd, believed to be in his early 70s, transferred power to his half brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, after the stroke. Abdullah continued to carry out many of the king’s duties even after Fahd’s official return.
Time reported that Saudi officials are searching for a way to transfer official power to Abdullah without making it seem like an abdication, which could produce instability.
The solution, it said, citing two unidentified diplomats, would be to turn a planned vacation in Spain into a permanent trip.
The magazine said the king’s entourage had been summoned to the airport three times in the past month for an international trip, only to be summoned back to the palace.
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