Iran's presidential elections are this June. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, originally elected in 2005, is running for reelection. Jon Lee Anderson, in last week's New Yorker, examines Ahmadinejad and the larger context of the Iranian elections (Anderson's article is here).Anderson says that the Iranian public and leaders (religious and political) are having to adjust to a different world framework (in particular, a significantly less confrontational United States) as their elections approach:
The election this summer will help determine whether Iran’s fractures—at home and abroad—can be repaired through moderation and compromise, or whether the regime will continue to sustain itself through coercion ..."Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ahmadinejad have an unclear relationship -- I get the sense it's uncertain whether Khamenei "likes" Ahmadinjad or just sees him as an easily manipulable figurehead. Regardless, according to Anderson, Khamenei has "no doubt that Ahmadinejad will be re-elected." Khamenei's spokesperson says that Ahmadinejad "has a special place among the masses—especially among the masses ... others will come against him, but none can compete with Ahmadinejad.”
Obama has cleverly created a debate between the Iranian people and their leaders, and within the leadership itself—and also, because this comes just three months before the elections, made it a campaign issue.
Mohammad Khatami is not running in the upcoming election. In his place, Mir-Hossein Mousavi is running as the "reformist" candidate (Anderson says that the meaning of the phrase reformist is unclear in Iranian politics -- I guess that's true in America too). "Because of past quarrels with Khamenei, Mousavi is considered someone who is willing to challenge the theocrats."
192. Anderson says that Ahmadinejad is 5 '2", and the article includes a couple of anecdotes emphasizing Ahmadinejad's smallness. Does Anderson think he has a Napoleon complex?
193. Is Ahmadinejad the shortest of the current world leaders?
194. In terms of his background, Ahmadinejad was a university professor prior to being chosen to serve as mayor of Tehran (Anderson does not tell the life story in terms of Ahmadinejad's personal ambition). I've read a lot about Iranians as a highly educated and cultured people -- is this reflected in their turning to someone with a university background as president?
195. How fair and free are Iran's elections? Anderson unfortunately does not answer this question.
