The Beginning of a New Chapter in Iranian Politics
The beginning of a new chapter in Iranian politics was marked by the revolutionary parliament’s vote of confidence in all the cabinet members proposed by Masoud Pezeshkian, an important event that few had predicted. This vote of confidence took place in the context of Pezeshkian’s speech in parliament and discussions about his statements on complete coordination with various branches of the system, which did not receive the attention it deserved.
Nevertheless, the vote of confidence in Mohammadreza Zafarqandi, Ahmad Meydari, and Farzaneh Sadegh Malvared contains hidden meanings that need to be scrutinized.
The formation of a national consensus cabinet signifies an important event and transformation in the country’s social and political relations that should not be overlooked.
Ignoring this change could lead us astray in analyzing political relations and providing appropriate solutions for the country’s issues. But what are the signs of this change and transformation?
Moving Beyond the Conflicts Created in the Sixth Parliament
The ‘Goblet of Poison’ letter by the sixth parliament representatives and their sit-in at the parliament was one of the issues that cast a shadow over the country’s political relations for the past two decades.
The signatories of that letter and those who participated in the sit-in were practically sidelined from the country’s official and executive relations, and even if they changed their stance, they still faced a difficult path to enter the country’s executive structure.
However, now the parliament’s vote of confidence in Ahmad Meydari shows that those conflicts have diminished and perhaps been resolved.
Overcoming this conflict after two decades could mark the end of one of the significant political rifts in the country that had developed between political forces loyal to the revolution and the Islamic Republic.
A Step Towards Healing the Rift from the Events of 2009
The protests of 2009 are one of the significant political turning points in the past four decades. After those protests, the political relations among forces loyal to the revolution and the system underwent a profound transformation.
Many of those protesters, including figures who had made sacrifices in the early years of the revolution, were imprisoned. Figures like Seyed Mohammad Khatami were restricted, and the leaders of the protests have been under house arrest for about 14 years now.
On the other hand, the political system also suffered numerous damages from those protests. Those protests created one of the most important political rifts in the country and turned into a wound that had not been healed until the Masoud Pezeshkian administration.
Despite the efforts made in Hassan Rouhani’s administration to heal this wound, due to the situation and conflicts that government faced, those efforts were practically unsuccessful. However, now the revolutionary parliament’s vote of confidence in Mohammadreza Zafarqandi, someone who openly criticized the house arrest of the 2009 protest leaders and stood by his positions, holds significant meaning and shows that the old wound is gradually healing, and new possibilities for bridging the gap between the protesters of that year and the political system have been created.
Although this gap will not be completely filled as long as the house arrest continues, Zafarqandi’s presence in the government, with his picture even published in Imam Khomeini’s Hosseiniyeh, can symbolize the reduction of the gap resulting from that era. The events and developments of the coming months and years will show how much this movement will continue.
The Presence of Women in the Cabinet Towards Bridging the Gender Gap
The presence of Farzaneh Sadegh Malvared in Masoud Pezeshkian’s cabinet is an important phenomenon that should not be overlooked.
Before this, only in Ahmadinejad’s government had a woman managed to become a minister, and it is said that even Hassan Rouhani could not utilize women in ministerial positions, an issue that led to much protest among women.
Now, however, there were rumors that Masoud Pezeshkian’s government could introduce up to two women as ministers to the parliament.
Although it is not clear whether these rumors were true or not, the uncontroversial appointment of Farzaneh Sadegh Malvared as a minister, especially in an infrastructure ministry, can be interpreted as a step towards reducing gender inequality in the country.
While the gender gap will not be resolved with the appointment of a single woman as a minister, Malvared’s appointment holds symbolic meaning and shows that the political structure of the country has found the capacity to utilize competent women.
Meanwhile, at the time of writing this text, rumors have been published that a woman will be appointed as the government’s spokesperson, making Pezeshkian’s government the first to have a female spokesperson. This appointment also reinforces that symbolic meaning.
The Presence of Sunnis in the Cabinet
According to news and rumors circulating these days, it seems that Masoud Pezeshkian’s cabinet, for the first time in the country, will include a Sunni member, and one of the vice presidents will be from the Sunni community.
Being part of the cabinet as a minister or vice president has been one of the demands of the Sunni community in the country, repeatedly expressed since the Hassan Rouhani administration.
This demand is now being realized in Masoud Pezeshkian’s government, and for the first time, a Sunni will join the cabinet, a symbolic phenomenon that can be a step towards bridging the gap with the Sunni community in the country.
The gap between the official structure and the Sunni community, which intensified following the protests of 2022, has many consequences for the country, and this action of employing Sunni forces as vice president can be a sign of efforts to reduce this gap.
Each of the above points holds significant social and political meaning and indicates an important change and transformation in the country’s political relations.
If before Masoud Pezeshkian’s government there was a kind of resistance to resolving social and political gaps, now with the trust placed in Masoud Pezeshkian, a change in approach to addressing the existing political and social gaps in the country is observed. Interaction and trust that, if continued, can lay the groundwork for solving many of the country’s problems.
The importance of this change in approach is precisely where it shows itself in coordination with various branches of the system, including the leadership.
In this regard, particular attention should be paid to Pezeshkian’s statements about complete coordination with the leadership. The value of these transformations lies precisely in the fact that these changes are also approved by various institutions of the system. This change in approach will lead to an increase in the social capital of the political system because some social and political groups that felt excluded from the country’s political equations now see themselves as part of the structure, and this will help restore the social capital of the political system.
When social groups feel recognized within the country’s political structure, they will be more aligned and sympathetic with the decisions of this political structure.
What was observed before Masoud Pezeshkian’s government in the framework of purification was a continuous effort to eliminate and exclude various political and social groups.
But now a new approach is observed that, instead of elimination and exclusion, strives for the integration of these groups, a matter from which everyone will benefit.
Of course, this reality should not be denied that there are still various social and political groups that feel they do not have a place in official relations and that their views and positions are not heard. It should not be assumed that the integration process has ended; rather, it has just begun.
However, the fact that the previous exclusion process has now turned into a process for integrating political and social groups, women, and Sunnis indicates the beginning of a new chapter in Iranian politics. This new chapter also manifests itself in online data. The analysis of Twitter data following the parliament’s vote of confidence in Pezeshkian’s cabinet indicates a significant transformation in political relations, where neo-principlists have stood alongside moderate and reformist forces, and a wide range of moderate forces, from critical and progressive reformists to moderate conservatives and principlists, have come together.
Of course, this new condition has its own characteristics that need to be understood further. Essentially, it cannot yet be said with certainty whether this new condition is merely temporary or will continue, as multiple factors affect its cessation or continuation.
The question of why this new policy has started now, why Rouhani’s government, and particularly his second term, was unsuccessful in pursuing this policy and reducing conflicts, and how this approach can continue, requires extensive discussions that need to be addressed among political and social groups.
The continuation of this approach requires constructive interaction among all parties. Efforts to resolve issues and create consensus now need to be on the agenda not only in the government and political system but also in civil society, parties, and social groups.