Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is racing against time to try and find a political settlement to the current crisis. According to "Al Sharq al Awsat" newspaper, Mohammed Ismail, a senior aide of Saif al-Islam, the son of Gaddafi, has began an unannounced visit to the British capital, London, for this purpose. According to the report, the envoy presents a proposal in which Gaddafi will have a symbolic title like Queen Elizabeth II in Britain with one of his sons will serve as the chief executive of the Libyan state. Some opposition figures will be allowed to join a national government.
Sources familiar with the details of the Libyan envoy's contacts with a number of Western governments told "Al Sharq al Awsat" newspaper that Gaddafi's son Mutasim, who currently holds the position of Libya's national security adviser, will be promoted to the post of Libyan president while Moammar Gaddafi will hold power symbolically.
The sources pointed out that this new offer means that Gaddafi had withdrawn his previous offer to promote his second son Seif al-Islam to the post following the strong rejection by the rebels. The sources said that the offer is still being considered in a number of Western capitals.
An indication to the diminishing status of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is the fact that he had declined to appear in the Libyan media for about 10 days. In that period, he did not make any statements to the press and switched off his mobile phone. At the first days of the revolt, Saif al-Islam appeared on Libyan media on a daily basis.
