1.   If there were ever an illustration of an effete ruling elite, it is this.

2.   Of course the ruling elites are still capable of using repressive forces.

3.   The country is still ruled by people who are heirs to a ruling Western elite.

4.   The ruling elite have resisted all attempts at reform.

5.   Yet information, particularly over the internal situation and the political attitudes of the ruling elite, is scarce.

6.   Have they become a ruling elite or even a new ruling class?