I saw the sentence in the following quote of Kenneth M. Pollack, director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, about Middle East upheaval in New York Times’ ‘Quotation of Today.’ 

I understand the meaning of *stand above the fray.* But as I was unsure of the meaning of *have going for someone / something*, I checked a dictionary. It carries *have a lot going for* and its definition is *Having many positive personal attributes and achievement*. 

Having seen this, I’m not still very clear about the exact meaning of the line, *What the monarchies have going for them are royal families that allow them to stand above the fray.* Though I can 'guess' the meaning of the whole by context, can somebody rephrase or restructure this line so it is easier for a foreign English learner to understand? 

The quote in question reads:

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> What the monarchies have going for them are royal families that allow them to stand above the fray, to a certain extent. It allows them to sack the government without sacking themselves.
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> --- Kenneth M. Pollack, director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, on why monarchs are weathering political upheaval in the Middle East.
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