Will The New King Change Saudi Arabia?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 10 February 2015
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
79-year-old King Salman has taken the Saudi throne, promising security and stability. But what do his past and his first acts as king tell us about how the country might change under his rule and beyond? Our Inquiry hears from a newspaper editor and an ex-spy who have both met him and from Saudis who hope for change.
Presenter: Helena Merriman
Photo: New Saudi King Salman attends a ceremony following the death of the late Saudi King at the Diwan royal palace in Riyadh (Credit: Reuters)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
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| 0:35.4 | Sounds. |
| 0:36.4 | Hi, thanks for downloading the inquiry from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:40.9 | We're a weekly program. |
| 0:42.4 | Our job is to add in-depth analysis to one question from the news. |
| 0:47.0 | We hope you like it. |
| 0:49.0 | BBC World Service, this is Helen and Merriman with the inquiry. |
| 0:55.0 | This week, will Saudi Arabia's new monarch, King Salmann changed the country. In the early hours of Friday the 23rd of January, |
| 1:11.4 | a Saudi State TV presenter was handed an official statement. As he read it, he sealed himself to make what was probably the most mourn the death of the custodian of the two holy mosques, King Abdullah. |
| 1:50.0 | The King's death was momentous, but no surprise. He was elderly and had been ill for some time. |
| 1:57.0 | His successor was no surprise either. |
| 2:00.0 | King Salmaan had been crown prince since 2012. |
| 2:04.0 | We will adhere to the path this nation has followed since it was established, said the new king. |
| 2:18.0 | Everything about the transition was designed to signify continuity, order and stability. |
| 2:25.0 | But is that all King Salmaan represents? represents. Part 1, the Prince. |
| 2:49.0 | I first met Prince. |
| 2:50.0 | I first met Prince. |
... |
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