Thread by @NabeelNowairah

#Thread
The #Bahraini PM phone call with Qatar Emir last week is not a sign of a potential breakthrough of GCC Crisis, but actually is a sign of a wider crack and another complexity to the rift.

The long-serving Bahraini PM Khalifa bin Salman is leading one of the important wings inside the tiny Kingdom in competition of power. There are mainly three wings in Bahrain: One led by the Crown Prince Salman, another led by the so-called..

Al-Khawalid (Minister of Royal Court Khalid bin Ahmed and his brother Army Commander Khalifa bin Ahmed), and a third led by the PM Khalifa bin Salman.
There has been attempts by the King and his Crown Prince (CP), especially after 2011, to overthrow the powerful PM who enjoys

good security and business connections in the country. Similarly, the PM wants to secure the Crown Prince position to his sons. While Al-Khawalid wing are more conservative and do not favor some the CP’s reformist moves, they side against more influential PM.

Recently the #UAE is attempting to support the King’s move against the PM. #KSA under late King Abdullah was against any change of power balance in Bahrain, but under MBS it is more aligned with the UAE actions.

The recent call between Bahraini PM and Qatar Emir shows the PM’s desire to challenge the UAE and Bahrain’s official stance against Qatar, and also shows that the PM can act independently from the King. The following Bahrain’s statement saying that the PM’s call does not

represent the official stance invited wide sarcasm.
Few days after the call, PM met with Shia religious leader Minbar Al-Ghuraifi and right after that the Bahraini Ministry of Interior issued a statement criticizing Al-Ghuraifi’s position on terrorist attacks in the Kingdom.

The Minister of Interior Rahid bin Khalifa is considered part of the strong Khawalid wing and his son is the Kingdom’s Ambassador to the US.
Today the PM met with a number of royal family members in his palace.
The recent moves by the PM shows that he is taking steps

to strengthen his position in the Kingdom and rally for support from the Shia majority, businessmen and some royals. This may result in clearer clashes between the different levers of powers in Bahrain that might likely have implications on the GCC Crisis.