Saudi Arabia should listen to critics of its reform programme

INSIDE AN ORNATE conference hall the boss of a $100bn tech fund spoke to rows of empty chairs. Then he briefly fell asleep. Outside the hall Anthony Scaramucci, the colourful financier who lasted ten days as Donald Trump’s communications director, dispensed questionable political analysis. An American company hawked jetpacks. A robot urged passers-by to tickle her head. “It will make you feel better,” she said.

This was the third Future Investment Initiative (FII), Saudi Arabia’s flagship business conference. The event, which wrapped up in Riyadh on October 31st, attracted some 6,000 guests. That made Saudi officials feel better. The first FII, in 2017, was a coming-out party for the economic-reform programme of Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince (pictured). But the second, last year, was overshadowed by the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist, by Saudi agents. Top executives stayed away.

They had no qualms about attending this year’s event, where officials pushed a narrative of progress. Many guests argued that the kingdom had learned a lesson from the furore over Khashoggi. It is true that Saudi agents have not dismembered any journalists in the past 12 months. But this reflects conquest, not contrition: critics have been cowed into silence. On November 6th two employees of Twitter were charged in America with...

Read More