Two serious threats that are endangering the government of physicians
Less than a week after Masoud Pezeshkian was elected as the president of Iran, and while he has not officially taken office and worn the presidential robe, the shadows of threat and doubt can already be seen looming over the new government.
One threat comes from the defeated candidates of the election who, from the early hours of Sunday when they realized they have no path to victory, began reacting sharply and emerged as a threat to the president-elect and his supporters.
Initially, these reactions were mostly internal and turned into a debate within the bloc of the ruling faction, which superficially appeared as a confrontation between the supporters of Saeed Jalili and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. However, at a deeper and real level, the fear of puritans and extreme right-wingers of losing their privileges and powers was emerging, even questioning the system’s policies in these elections and the performance of the Guardian Council.
They themselves knew better that the level of the game is beyond the doctors and reformists, and in a way, the decision of the system to sideline the radicals was to strengthen the moderate and rooted forces. This event shaped a more precise statement and a theoretical grand project that these elections can be a step towards its realization, reviving politics and ending the era of suspended politics. Naturally, the forces that were fielded and tribuned during the era of suspended politics are discouraged and anxious about its advancement and realization. On one side, the hardliners on the right inside and on the other side, the spectrum of opposition radicals who advocate complete societal despair of reforms and the majority’s inclination towards overthrow and structural change.
Just as in these elections, two currents against the moderate forces had declared an alliance, and the media and spokespeople of both sides were praising each other.
After this stage, in recent days, various right and radical spectra have gradually decided to confront and directly oppose the doctors and their supporters after internal debates.
Recent headlines in the Kayhan newspaper have raised the issue of the claim of delivering a genetically modified horse to the fourteenth government, warning healthcare professionals against aligning with Khatami, Rouhani’s reformist forces, and moderate centrists. These threats and propaganda against the new government began even before its formation.
Jalili’s statements about the continuation of the shadow government’s activities and his warning about getting involved in matters they should be aware of are considered another example of these movements and threats. However, the dimensions and clarity of the propaganda in unofficial and virtual channels are more extensive.
From direct insults to voters and healthcare professionals to threats against the elected president to implement the 500-bed project and meddling in ethnic issues, along with a series of internal government actions for appointments and reshuffles that will cause problems for the future government, are traceable and analyzable at this level.
There are conflicting currents, but what is causing more concern in the current situation and in the internal discussions of the supporters of the elected president are doubts about the mechanism of forming the government and the president’s collaborators. This concern shapes the fear that external pressures and internal dynamics may push efficient and capable forces, believing in development and change, to the sidelines, leading to cabinets lacking sufficient power to change the existing situation.
However, the formation of committees to appoint ministers and government officials, with the presence of influential figures from the administrations of Khatami and Rouhani, along with the establishment of the Policy Council for the formation of the fourteenth government, to some extent alleviates these doubts.
In addition, besides the clear criteria communicated by physicians to the officials of these committees regarding the proposed options, there are issues that align with the demands of the public and the approaches of physicians during the elections.
Despite these measures, shadows of doubts and concerns still loom large in the campaign of the supporters of the new government. Some of these concerns are, of course, natural.
The unequal power balance between the legacy of the thirteenth government, especially in the economic and social sectors, alongside the unclear outlook of foreign policy, presents a situation that necessitates a group of capable, knowledgeable, experienced, and motivated individuals to enable the new government to navigate this challenging and obstacle-laden path with the necessary human resources and full internal coherence.
However, shaping such a government seems to face two internal obstacles, which can be summarized with the words ‘stubbornness’ and ‘self-sufficiency’.
The fourteenth government of Eksu is confronted with the internal threat of partisan forces, whose track record and positions in previous governments, especially in the Khatami and Rouhani administrations, are not particularly positive.
These forces prioritize personal interests over public interests, pursue their own agendas rather than advancing the government’s policies and approaches, and defend their reformist and developmental positions for personal or group gains, often stepping aside during difficult times and waiting to reap the benefits when the situation becomes favorable.
These forces are the same as the ones known as the Mujahideen Shura, and even in the recent elections, they did not play a significant role beyond receiving election headquarters’ instructions or taking commemorative photos.
Many of these forces are influenced by a strategy that initially opposed supporting the candidacy of physicians and had conflicting views with the strategy of the reformists, through which physicians entered the twelfth parliament and later reached the presidency. Now, it seems they are following a path of pursuing demands and quickly forgetting the realities and relationships existing in the political structure.
They believe that the victory of physicians was a simple and singular event based solely on the desires and will of the reformists, and now they naively think that the government can be formed solely with like-minded forces, disregarding the larger equations.
On the other hand, some influential figures in the physicians’ election campaign, who were all actively involved in these elections and are considered pathfinders and strategists by theorists and pioneers, have taken a stance of detachment at Pasteur Square, unintentionally weakening the new government.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, and Mohammad Fazeli are the most prominent figures who have officially stated their absence from the government of physicians.
It is not clear whether the reason for the decision of these figures is their personal desire or whether they have deemed it preferable to step aside and sit on the sidelines by observing the prevailing atmosphere of the new government. If this decision is personal, it is clearly irresponsible.
Because choosing to be on the sidelines and distancing oneself from power is not a virtuous approach, similar to the position of those who did not participate in the elections with the argument that they wanted to keep their hands clean from the contamination of blood, allegiance, or obedience.
Just as not voting in these elections was an individual decision but with national consequences and risks, sidelining influential figures, especially these three, although apparently a personal decision, can have negative national and social consequences and impacts.
Because these figures have been among the most important forces of the physicians’ election campaign, each symbolizing and representing one of the slogans and goals of the new government.
Zarif, the representative of the foreign policy of de-escalation and revival of the JCPOA, symbolizes the reduction of internet filtering and attention to the new generation. Zibakalam and Fazel represent the employment of elites and academics who have faced file-making, expulsion, and suspension in recent years.
In other words, the departure of these three figures and other influential figures, alongside the supporters of the medical community, is not just the sidelining of three political, scientific, and executive personalities. It is perceived by the audience and society as sending a message that physicians have abandoned their three main and fundamental projects from the outset, or at least will not seek the help of their most capable and influential forces to advance it.
If the reason for sidelining these figures is the atmosphere formed around the medical community, which definitely requires a review of the current approach, it should be considered why and how a trend has emerged where the stars of the 1403 Victory Campaign have chosen to leave over staying and prefer escape over staying put.
Whichever of these two possibilities it may be, the current approach is doubtful and concerning. Immediate action should be taken to save the new government from two internal threats, both from those seeking plunder and from those who are indifferent and self-sufficient.
Persian
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