Why did Qatar appoint new PM?

Qatar's Emir appointed a new prime minister on Tuesday, the state news agency reported, replacing veteran regime insider Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani. No reason was given for the change and it is unclear if Sheikh Abdullah remains the interior minister after stepping down as prime minister.

New Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani previously headed up the office of the Qatari ruler.

While the Qatari scene is highly dependent on the sole ruling and decisions of Tamim Bin Hamad, therefore, a reading into the recent step of changing the cabinet head might be hard to trace and understand, therefore, this can be divided into several notes.

First note: Why Khalid Bin Khalifa and not Mohammed bin Abdulrahman? This seems to be one of the most important questions, as Abdulrahman is the top politician in Doha and the second man after Tamim, which was deemed extraordinary because he’s not a royal blood, however, the new prime minister’s expertise revolves around the gas sector and economy, which might be Qatar’s interest during the incoming period, especially that Qatar has maintained its dominance in liquefied natural gas exports.

Second note: In monarchy, dismissal occurs with a single word; in remarks, the ex-prime minister expressed fear that they might regret the arrival of “Turks”, which was more than enough for him to get ousted, given that the Qatari Emir loathes people who disagree with him, especially regarding his foreign policies, and sensitive issues like relations with Turkey and Iran.

Third note: Could it be reconciliation? As according to several newspapers, this change in positions took place because the ex-prime minister had been supporting reconciliation with Arab countries that boycotted Doha.

Fourth note: Is it rapprochement with Iran the reason? Some might say that the ex-prime minister refused rapprochement with Iran, however, this can be disregarded as the relations between Qatar and Iran are more like strategic and not a sudden decision.

Fifth note: It might be the World Cup; appointing a new Prime Minister with more awareness in economy and administration rather than foreign policies and security might be an indicator to a close Gulf reconciliation, therefore, Qatar will seek to firmly focus on the World Cup 2020 event.

Sixth note: Disregard all the previous notes; Away from the previous analyses, some may say the cabinet reshuffle was a normal and predicted step that had been delayed for a long period, which only indicates that politics is clinically dead in such regimes; therefore, most of analyses and readings into the scene might all be dependent on the psychological states and own contexts of a sole decision maker, which is only natural in a country where the role of state institutions are absent.