Why does no one resign?
Why does no one resign over the baby shopping scandal, mismanagement, misuse of public funds, travel, education, and living of children abroad, or any other reason in this country? Not only does it not encourage any official to resign, but whenever rumors of it spread, they strongly defend their position and seat.
In the latest case, Ansieh Khazali wrote on her Twitter account, referring to a news item published from a fake account in her name about her resignation after her son’s trip abroad became public, stating that such accounts are fake and do not belong to her.
Meanwhile, conservatives have recently been very sensitive and politically maneuvering on the issue of dual-nationality managers and the education, work, and migration of officials’ children abroad. Therefore, it was expected that now that it has been revealed that the child of a prominent figure within the conservative power structure is also afflicted with this issue, there would be clear reactions from within this group. However, not only did this not happen, but the Deputy for Women and Family Affairs of the President even denied the rumor of her resignation.
The Case of Salwa Ki Nejad
This is not the first time the presence of officials’ children abroad has become a media issue. This matter, especially concerning conservative figures who often speak against the West and its culture and lifestyle or hold positions in this domain, becomes more controversial and reactionary. A while ago, different images of Salwa Ki Nejad, the daughter of Mohammad Ali Ki Nejad, a member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution at the time, along with her husband and child, were circulating on social media.
The reactions were so numerous that Salwa Ki Nejad had to close her Instagram account. The issue was that the images she published of herself and her family had a significant distance from the concerns of the members and the spirit governing the resolutions of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution aimed at deepening and operationalizing Islamic culture.
The audience’s question was how they impose something on others through resolutions and laws that they do not favor for their children or, at the very least, have shown themselves incapable of raising their children with the lifestyle they advocate. Here too, Mr. Ki Nejad not only did not resign but did not even apologize and instead reacted in a demanding manner by issuing a statement.
Regarding my daughter Salwa, I must acknowledge that despite the rumors spread by ill-wishers, as a father, I am proud of my talented child for her academic achievements and many successes, and I appreciate her for the hardships she has endured due to my name and reputation.
Chasing Euros or Independence
It was just recently that the controversial Secretary of the Headquarters for Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil, Mohammad Saleh Hashemi Golpaygani, announced that 3 to 4 thousand children of middle managers have been abroad over the past years. He further stated, why is there insistence on someone being in charge while their child is abroad? There is a competition among officials, meaning one cannot be chasing euros and dollars for their children but loudly proclaiming the country’s independence.
He mentioned that some of these managers are still active and said, unfortunately, there is no law in this regard. Of course, they criticized us, saying if a manager’s child is in another country, what does it have to do with the manager, and why should we be deprived of a capable manager?
Whether this manager remains in their position or not, the parliament must decide on this matter. We have also sent a letter to the parliament, and actions have been taken in the parliamentary session, but no decisive action has yet been taken.
Power Lovers, Not Servants
A look at the news shows that the culture of resignation in Iran is like a pyramid from bottom to top and is mainly common among middle managers and ordinary employees. As the positions move towards high-level managers, ministers, and even vice presidents, or the president himself, and even the heads of other branches, the number of resignations becomes fewer and fewer, to the point that at the top of the power pyramid, it approaches zero.
But let’s return to the first question: why, when the scandal of ethical misconduct or mismanagement of a responsible official becomes apparent, is there no news of resignation? Some say the absence of this culture is because others feel that if someone does it, it is out of weakness, not out of respect for public opinion.
Managers and officials not only remain in their positions but also lack the culture of apologizing to the public. When someone makes a mistake and remains in their position without apologizing, it has a very negative impact on people’s minds.
A former member of parliament said that those who unfortunately act this way apparently support the system but practically do not believe in the system’s work. While in many foreign countries, when a problem like an air accident or train collision occurs, officials apologize and step down, but this is not the case here. In our country, some are infatuated with positions and power and will do anything to obtain and retain them.
There are other issues at play, for example, as long as they hold a position, they have good salaries and facilities, but when they leave that position, all those facilities are taken away from them, or the social status of individuals is tied to their position. Without the seat, they feel homeless, so it is obvious that someone infatuated with power and retaining their seat will stay at any cost.
Expediency Over Courage
They say resigning requires courage, and someone who wants to give up the benefits and position they have needs special courage and ability. For example, it has often been said that when Khatami’s policies reached a dead end and he found himself practically unable to fulfill his promises to the public, he should have resigned, especially when his twin bills regarding increasing presidential powers were sent back by the parliament.
Or it was said that in the previous government, due to crises arising from incorrect economic decisions, not only should the head of the central bank but the government’s economic team have resigned, but expediency was in staying and continuing the work. Expediency is so dominant that not only personal resignation but also in none of the past terms, except for one time, has impeachment and a vote of no confidence for presidents been deemed expedient.