Politics of inaction
In a less than transparent political system, the absence of words is interpreted as thoroughly as the results of actions. Nazila Fathi wrote this bit of interpretation for the New York Times.A President’s Defender Keeps His Distance
"A rift is emerging between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran’s supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, suggesting that the president no longer enjoys the ayatollah’s full backing...
"In the past, when Mr. Ahmadinejad was attacked by his political opponents, criticisms were usually silenced by Ayatollah Khamenei... But that public support has been conspicuously absent in recent months...
"The Iranian presidency is a largely ceremonial post. But Mr. Ahmadinejad had used the office as a bully pulpit, espousing an economic populism that... made him a political force to be reckoned with. That popularity won him the strong backing of the supreme leader.
"But the relationship began to sour... A person close to Ayatollah Khamenei... said the ayatollah was especially disappointed with Mr. Ahmadinejad’s economic performance, which has led to steep inflation in the cost of basic necessities, from food to rents to property values...
"In the face of rising criticism, Mr. Ahmadinejad has for the first time admitted that Iran was suffering from rising prices. Previously, he had called inflation a fiction invented by his political enemies..."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:02 AM
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