NO ONE is quite sure what to call it. The arrest of scores of people in Saudi Arabia on November 4th has been variously dubbed a coup, a counter-coup and a purge. Those detained range from billionaire businessmen, such as Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, to a contender for the crown, Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah. "Saudis do not know what happened," says a professional in Riyadh, the capital. "It is a shock." One thing, at least, is clear: power is now concentrated in the hands of the young crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, who orchestrated the blitz in the name of his frail 81-year-old father, King Salman.
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