Hossein Mohammadi
Rooz spoke with prominent Iranian journalist Mashala Shamsolvaezin, the head of the country’s journalists union about the forthcoming presidential elections next June, who said that the foundation of the current administration rested on the military rather than democratic institutions. Here are the excerpts.
Rooz (R): In your view has the public turned its back towards President Ahmadinejad’s administration?
Mashala Shamsolvaezin (MS): In view of the performance of Ahmadinejad’s administration, we have seen a national turnaround from this government. This is a populist administration. It has not implemented any of its pledged promises because it does not have the knowledge or the power to materialize them. The elite was quiet well aware of this but now things have deteriorated to the point that the administration is incapable of performing its most basic functions, which is to provide public services such as electricity in summer and heating gas in winter.
R: Has this issue also become apparent to the supporters of the administration?
MS: A new power configuration has emerged as we notice that the camp that brought Mr. Ahmadinejad to power is now deeply divided. Another issue is that a new group has emerged advocating moderation within the conservatives. This indicates that the new so called reformist coalition has rejected Mr. Ahmadinejad’s radicalism and the extremist values advocated by some ultra-conservatists. With this state of affairs, it appears that if the group critical of the administration succeeds in remaining intact, it has the capability to defeat Ahmadinejad’s government in a democratic elections.
R: You mean reformists can succeed in this battle?
MS: As I said, if they can hold themselves together and remain intact, and by refraining from unilateral initiatives begun by Mr. Karubi while coming to an internal consensus.
R: Then why is there so much division within the reformist camp?
MS: Perhaps it is because it has still not recovered from the shock it experienced in recent years. They are still in crises as their forces are more dispersed than the conservatists. Immigration is on a rapid rise among this group, hopelessness in the political realm is also on the rise. The populist nature of the political atmosphere has resulted in that the climate is now devoid of any professional discourse. Reformists now believe that they cannot return to power on the basis of the current constitution. These trends pull the different reformist groups away from each other, rather than towards each other. And as we approach the day of presidential elections, we shall witness even greater differences among reformists, just as we would see the same thing take place among conservatists.
R: How can reformists unite?
MS: By relying and building on the possibilities and energies within the regime, and not those outside it. Otherwise, it is impossible to have effective election mobilization and momentum. And with this in view, reformers must reduce their goals, create internal consensus and take steps to increase public participation to its maximum. This should be at the top of their agenda.
R: Reformers believe that in the absence of a media, they cannot communicate with the public.
MS: No benefit derives from complaining about the existing conditions. Complains only indirectly tell the public that reformers are incapable of finding creative models and moving beyond existing obstacles, and then they wonder how could they hand over executive and legislative authority to a group that cannot overcome its shortcomings.
R: In other words you are saying instead of depending on their own personal and superficial strengths, they should be focusing on greater plans.
MS: During the last presidential elections people turned to Mr. Ahmadinejad because they saw that he made simple and more tangible promises than his rivals and talked about such issues as the distribution of the oil wealth. Reformers must develop simple platforms on the basis of development models.
