Passing the Scepter?

Over the past 60 years, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk has worn many crowns: a bon vivant prince, an absolute ruler, an exile, a prisoner of the Khmer Rouge and, since 1993, a constitutional monarch. Now, Sihanouk is seeking a new role: retiree. The 81-year-old, affectionately known as "Samdech Euv" (Papa King), dismayed many last week when he released a statement announcing his abdication. "I am too old now," the King wrote from Beijing, where he is receiving treatment for diabetes, exhorting his people "to please allow me to retire."

If Sihanouk does step down, it may be because he's tired of trying to mediate among his country's warring political factions. "He's upset with the evolution of the country," says Thun Saray, a Cambodian political analyst. Sihanouk, once Cambodia's dominant political force, set up the royalist Funcinpec party now run by his son Prince Norodom Ranariddh, but the prince is not the political operator his father was. Prime Minister Hun Sen is now firmly in control: he overthrew the prince in a 1997 coup and has since won two controversial elections. In August, Hun Sen persuaded Ranariddh into joining a coalition government after a yearlong deadlock.

Some say the King is tired of this political mess and is now eager for one of his favored sons, Prince Norodom Sihamoni, 51, to take the throne. Sihanouk cannot choose his own heir—a task that falls to a nine-member Throne Council, which can choose from dozens of eligible princes. Ranariddh has a seat on the council, but it is still dominated by Hun Sen's allies. Political analyst Chea Vannath says that Sihanouk, by making his favorite clear, may hope to nudge the council to choose Sihamoni as a way to prevent further political battles after his own death. "This could smooth the transition," she says.

If that's Sihanouk's plan, it appears to be working. Last week Hun Sen and Ranariddh signed a letter agreeing that Sihamoni, a diplomat and former ballet dancer, should eventually take the throne. Sihanouk, it seems, may have one more major role to play: kingmaker.