Gulf GCC Rift: Saudi Coup Non Denial, Troubled Currency Union
One kicked the bucket and then there were five;
Five little Injuns on a cellar door,
One tumbled in and then there were four.
Four little Injuns up on a spree,
One got fuddled and then there were three;
Three little Injuns out on a canoe,……” Septimus Winner
“Highly placed Gulf sources have denied recent reports about a coup d’etat in Qatar. A GCC diplomat told Elaph that ‘there is no truth to the recent reports of anattempt by some military officers to stage a coup against the rule of Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani. Qatar ejoys peace and calm and the rumors are false.’
“Other recent reports have said that 30 high-level officers are being interrogated after reports of a coup in favor of a member of the ruling family..….It said that the firings of elading officers came hours after the attempt at mutiny..........”
As I said, Saudi media never ever publishes such rumors, even if they were true, about another Gulf GCC country, unless they have some official sanction. Clearly some branch of the Saudi elite is behind publishing the report (whether true or false).
It is also possible that there may be an economic angle, rather a political angle using an economic issue. Notice that the denial above is not Saudi, or Elaph’s, it is a “Gulf official”- and the quote goes on to repeat the report of the coup attempt.
They may want Doha out of the currency union scheme, one less annoying partner to deal with. A Qatari withdrawal, which I expect to occur unless there is a serious political shift in Doha, will leave Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain the only partners in a Gulf Currency Union. Guess who will run with the ball (absolutely dominate)?
How do you spell H-E-G-E-M-O-N-Y ?
For this reason, it is possible that the currency union plan will be left to die a silent slow death. Unless the current plan is abandoned and it is back to the drawing board, i.e. start from scratch, as I suggested here earlier.
A piece of advice: in future there should be less emphasis on bankers, such as Forex specialists, in devising a plan, and more reliance on economists.
Cheers
mhg
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