Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): The Bahraini Prime Minister who has been serving since the Independence died at the age of 85. He spent most of life in governance and decision-making positions.

His latest illness paved the way for the news of his subsequent death. His first treatment in Germany lasted for 5 months, and his second medical trip, which was not officially announced, lasted for about 3 months until his death was announced.

Since his first departure for Germany for treatment, Salman bin Hamad has been head of the Cabinet, which translated the rapid transition of the post to him without any obstacles, hours after the demise of his uncle.

But what does the death of Khalifa bin Salman mean?

The opposition has always negatively viewed Khalifa bin Salman due to the role he played in suppressing dissent for decades, especially in the period of state security during which he was in control.

The opposition knew Khalifa bin Salman's two basic qualities, his love for the state security law and his financial corruption, which knew no limits. Thus, his era was not adorned with flowers for most citizens who suffered from it.

Since his brother's death in 1999, the new ruler, his nephew, reduced his powers and marginalized him to the fullest extent possible. Since his arrival in power, Hamad bin Isa has worked on transfering a large number of the prime minister's powers to the king, while the Economic Development Council issue was another conflict ignited by the king and his son Salman, against the prime minister and an attempt to reduce the remaining powers he had.

These attempts have been translated into the story of the clashing wings of government that has been circulating since the beginning of the 2000s. The premier's wing was weakened considerably, but it did not die, and Khalifa bin Salman remained clinging to the Prime Minister's chair until the last moments of his life.

Some opposition patrons talk about the pros of Khalifa bin Salman. The sectarian issue is always mentioned and how Khalifa bin Salman was not using the weapon of sectarianism to confront the opposition, and only fought them politically. However, this belief is wrong.

In 2011, Khalifa bin Salman bared his teeth in defense of his seat, which was truly threatened (Salman bin Hamad tried to reach the Prime Minister's position through the Shiite opposition against Khalifa bin Salman), and so he unleashed dozens of his followers to express their views in a sectarian frenzy that Bahrain had never witnessed before. It was no secret that the so-called "Honorable Square" in Al-Busaitin was one of the squares of the Prime Minister's wing, which became a symbol representing the "Sunnis in the face of the Shiites seeking governance" in 2011.

We later discovered that people such as Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammed Khalid, former Colonel Adel Fleifel and others under the Prime Minister's wing were the ones who incited the most against Bahrain's Shiite community, and the most supportive of the use of sectarianism and sectarian discourse expressing disdain for the country's Shiite majority. 

With the demise of Khalifa bin Salman, it is believed that his wing will end and fade slowly, and his followers are not expected to be able to move to the other side of the ruling system, especially since they were involved in the war between government wings that erupted in the past two years. 

Arabic Version