TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — There’s a Persian saying used to describe an under-the-radar political effort: “Driving at night with the lights get.”
Even modest gains would be seen as an uptick for Ahmadinejad’s political fortunes. The current parliament — dominated by Ahmadinejad opponents and hard-line Khamenei loyalists — is bearing down hard.
On Tuesday, lawmakers said they would issue an order this week to bring Ahmadinejad for questioning on alleged economic mismanagement and his spats with Khamenei. The summons was the first of its kind for an Iranian president since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Ahmadinejad had once been considered a favored son of Khamenei, who quickly endorsed the disputed 2009 election results even as protests swelled on Tehran’s streets. The ties began to fray, however, as Ahmadinejad tried to expand the influence of the presidency into areas tightly controlled by the ruling theocracy, such as foreign policy and intelligence gathering.
A serious rupture occurred in April when Ahmadinejad threw a political tantrum after Khamenei’s order to reinstate the intelligence minister, Heidar Moslehi, who had been dismissed by Ahmadinejad. The president boycotted Cabinet meetings for more than a week in an unprecedented show of disrespect to Iran’s leader, who hard-liners believe is answerable only to God.
Dozens of Ahmadinejad aides were arrested or driven into the political margins. Hard-line media also began to smear Ahmadinejad’s protege, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, as head of a “deviant current” that sought to undermine Islamic rule. Some critics even claimed that Mashaei conjured black magic spells to fog Ahmadinejad’s mind.
The tensions grew so bitter that Khamenei suggested that Iran could someday abandon the presidency and return to a government selected by parliament.
The upcoming elections, however, pose a dilemma for the ruling system. It has the power to vet candidates and deny anyone with even a hint of pro-Ahmadinejad sentiments. But it also is desperate to avoid a low turnout, which could raise questions about national unity with Western pressures intensifying.
Khamenei last Friday urged the Guardian Council — which must clear all candidates — to keep the field wide. At the moment, more than 3,200 names have been approved out of some 5,500 hopefuls for the 290-seat parliament. Officials have predicted up to 60 percent turnout.
Noticeably absent is any political bloc drawing inspiration from the outlawed Green Movement, which led the outrage after Ahmadinejad’s re-election, which protesters charged was rigged, and whose leaders are silenced under house arrest.
“The election is hot among political factions, but cold among the people,” said Tehran-based political analyst Sajjad Salek. “Supporters of Ahmadinejad may be defeated in major centers, but they have a chance in small cities and