Iran’s Ahmadinejad: From populist president to oppositionist

Sari, Iran – In a village in northern Iran, a truck driver and three rather a couple of males battle to tow a truck on a muddy twin carriageway, take care of trainers pulling a gargantuan elephant from a slippery riverbank.

The path had been dug by construction workers your complete capability from the principle twin carriageway, stretching out of town of Sari, capital of Mazandaran province, to elongate a fuel pipeline to their village.

Till the venture is carried out, villagers will comprise to construct attain with LPG canisters for cooking and charcoal to take care of their houses heat all through winter on this mountainous outpost.

For now, despite the fact that, the nationwide fuel network venture does shrimp to raise a type of monetary security for the truck driver and his community, as construction modified into as soon as performed by outsiders. 

« We set up now not favor fuel. We need jobs. We need welfare, » he told Al Jazeera, pushing the fuel pedal of his tow truck.

Most right here voted for President Hassan Rouhani when he ran for re-election in 2017 and the one sooner than that in 2013, when the centrist candidate replaced Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

With Rouhani’s promise of reform and economic development showing shrimp to no progress, nevertheless, the truck driver is feeling nostalgic about Ahmadinejad. 

« Ahmadinejad paid us monthly cash which covered allotment of our prices. He gave us loans to restore our homes or form new ones. »  

During the eight years of Ahmadinejad, Iran’s oil revenues reached a whopping $700bn, and the authorities modified into as soon as awash in cash, permitting him to dole out $15 welfare cheques every month for heart-broken families.

Rouhani quiet will pay cash to low-earnings families. But with provocative inflation and excessive unemployment, the welfare payments comprise lost their shopping energy.  

The Rouhani administration additionally said the welfare money modified into as soon as wasted on corruption and wrong economic insurance policies all through Ahmadinejad’s two terms from 2005 to 2013.

But whatever nostalgia Iranians would possibly maybe well even comprise about Ahmadinejad is misplaced, in accordance to Abbas Abdi, a political analyst terminate to the reformists.

« This has more to attain with concerns in regards to the hot economic wretchedness than the performance of this particular baby-kisser [Ahmadinejad], » Abdi told Al Jazeera.

Inflation exceeded 30 p.c all through Ahmadinejad’s outdated few months whereas the unemployment rate reached 12.2 p.c in 2012.

In fresh months, Iran has been hit by a group of protests calling for authorities reforms [File: AP]

Then in 2017, amid the backdrop of requires more reform, Ahmadinejad tried to construct a comeback, banking on improve from the country’s decrease class to stagger for the presidency. But he and his former deputy, Hamid Baqaei, were both disqualified by the Guardian Council. 

‘Predominant reforms’

After the most contemporary wave of protests erupted in December and January, the populist former president has all over over again remodeled himself into a critic of the country’s ruling elite.

In a letter addressed to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ahmadinejad on Monday known as for a brand new spherical of presidential and parliamentary elections.

He said it desires to be free from interference by the defense pressure and security forces, as well to the Guardian Council, which vets candidates and oversees elections. 

Ahmadinejad additionally demanded « pressing essential reforms » within the Supreme Leader’s place of job as well to the govt., legislative and judicial branches of authorities.

He asked Khamenei that Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, the high of the judiciary since 2009, get replaced, and that an honest body be created to take care of complaints against the judiciary.

Abdi, the analyst terminate to the reformists, said Ahmadinejad’s motivation is « unclear », nevertheless he modified into as soon as repeatedly recognized to sight consideration all through his terms in place of job. 

Hamidreza Moqaddamfar, an advisor to the high of Iran’s Modern Guard Guard (IRGC), additionally brushed apart Ahmadinejad’s complaints, announcing he has « no factual basis » and adding the requires would possibly maybe maybe amount to sedition. 

Ahmadinejad as soon as enjoyed a terminate relationship with Khamenei, nevertheless the 2 had a falling out all through his 2d term.  

In slack-December, in thinly veiled comment geared against the former president, Khamenei censured « of us that outmoded to take care of all administrational capability » for changing their roles to an opposition regime.

Restful, Ahmadinejad persevered his criticism, using on a wave of public outrage that ended in nationwide protests in December and January, which left 25 people dumb and thousands more detained.

No longer too long within the past, he additionally criticised the medication of political prisoners, relating to a fresh suicide in penal complicated without mentioning any determine. 

‘Same feeble rhetoric’

But all through his presidency, Ahmadinejad had additionally been accused of being guilty for the arrest and imprisonment of thousands of protesters and opposition politicians following the 2009 elections, whereby his re-election modified into as soon as questioned as illegitimate.

Ahmadinejad modified into as soon as the Guard Council’s favorite in 2009, when fraud claims ignited the country’s biggest protests since 1979. That very same council disqualified him to stagger as president in 2017.  

Despite his provocative criticism of the authorities now not too long within the past, Ahmadinejad has managed to take care of faraway from the fate of rather a couple of politicians.

Analysts said he remains terminate to some of within the conservative factions and provocative him now would possibly maybe maybe be a mistake.

Abdi additionally said Ahmadinejad doesn’t pose a threat to the Rouhani authorities, because he has low public improve.  

Two opposition candidates who ran against him in 2009, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karoubi, stay below home arrest more than seven years later.

Rouhani’s 2013 derive, many analysts consider, modified into as soon as a reaction to the Ahmadinejad presidency.

But since then, Rouhani has made shrimp progress on political and economic reforms.

The 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers has additionally failed, to this level, to raise the anticipated economic profit to usual Iranians, observers declare.

These disasters comprise allowed Ahmadinejad to re-emerge and fresh himself as a brand new authorities critic, nevertheless with the identical feeble populist rhetoric.

Restful, analysts said Ahmadinejad would possibly maybe maybe be unable to restore his describe amongst hundreds of the country’s voters.

« Neither does he comprise the intellectual ability wished to reach that discontinue, nor people surrounding him are at that level to describe the majority of Iran’s center class, » Abdi said.