'Sidelined by the hardliners?'

"...The crown prince was seen as backing a gradual move to democracy which has seen regular elections since 2002, though constituency boundaries prevent the majority Shia Muslim population gaining a majority in parliament. The ruling family is Sunni, as with all the Gulf monarchies.
The prince attempted to negotiate with protesters after an initial attempt to put down the unrest in February failed. But in mid-March, the army stormed protesters' encampments and tanks and troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates poured into the kingdom.
Since then, the prime minister, along with the military chief, Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmed, another royal relative whose brother is the minister for the royal court, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed, have been leading the crackdown, in which 30 people have died and hundreds detained. ..."