The world’s oldest crown prince nears the throne of Kuwait

the Arabian peninsula’s fastest-growing economy and a sovereign wealth fund worth $750bn to share among its 1.8m citizens. Parliament is freely elected—and boisterous. Prime ministers, appointed by the emir, are routinely ejected. Yet a crucial element of Kuwaiti society is sedate bordering on comatose.The emir, Nawaf al-Sabah, is 85 and in severe decline. Other Gulf states have chucked the baton to a younger generation. But the al-Sabah still pass it tremulously along from one octogenarian brother to another. The last time the emir was seen in public, in June, he stumbled through a brief speech, struggling for breath. His designated successor and half-brother, Mishal, is 81. Other rival princes sue each other in European courts. “Each sheikh has his own gang,” laments a Kuwaiti academic.