Kuwait: Abdication and a Smooth Transition

Kuwait's ailing and newly crowned Emir Sheik Saad Abdullah al-Sabah abdicated his throne Jan. 23 in accordance with a deal worked out by the royal family. The transition will likely be a smooth one. The emir — who recently assumed the throne after the death of Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah — has long been ill, and the duties associated with governance have been discharged by Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah. Given that the country has lost two emirs in little more than two weeks, and that parliament was asked to intervene on the issue of succession, it appears that not only will the prime minister emerge in a more powerful position but so will the legislature.