Afghanistan: A house fit for a king becomes too grand for Afghan President Karzai --- The sprawling white estate on the grounds of Afghanistan’s presidential palace was designed as President Hamid Karzai’s retirement home, where he could settle down like royalty but still keep a watchful eye over his successor. -- While it was being built over the past 15 months, the house was a symbol of the concern among Western diplomats and analysts that Karzai’s tenure as president may be ending this year, but his influence over the country’s affairs would continue. -- “Hamid Karzai is giving up his power, but not his influence,” the Guardian declared in April, referring to his post-presidency compound. -- But in a surprise move, Karzai announced Thursday that he won’t be living in the recently completed mansion when he finally leaves office. It’s too large, Karzai told reporters, so he’s opted for a more modest residence among the masses in Kabul. --- So what will happen with the new heavily fortified compound (described by the New York Times last year as a 13,000-square-foot “European-style mansion")? It will instead be used as presidential guest house. -- “This exquisite edifice has been built compliant with a constitutional mandate for the retired president,” Karzai said at the ribbon-cutting for the property, according to the Afghanistan Times. “But, living in this guesthouse is a luxury that exceeds the life of a common Afghan, and I want it to be used for the reception of presidential palace guests.” -- In an interview with the Agence France-Presse news service, Karzai spokesman Aimal Faizi said the outgoing president decided “weeks ago” that the house was too lavish for him to reside in with his wife and three children. -- “He will have a normal, Afghan-type home in Kabul,” Faizi said. “It is not a newly built house, and people will soon know exactly where it is.” -- Karzai’s decision to scale down his retirement home is likely to throw another wrinkle into the debate about just how easily the 56-year-old plans to give up power. And once he does, will he be a former president who fades away? Or one who continually seeks to keep his hands in the country’s affairs?