Iran reformists gird for return to political stage

Reformist leader Mohammad Khatami won landslide elections in 1997 and 2001 and coming helped ease tensions with world powers. (Reuters)

 

Banished from Iran’s political mainstream after disputing the results of the 2009 presidential election, reformists are seizing on economic crisis and the threat of war as opportunities to mount a fresh bid for power.

But in gearing up to do so, they face immense challenges, including hardline conservative rivals who accuse them of stoking civil unrest. Many faithful are chastened by relentless repression and the last period of reform-minded government, widely seen as having failed to deliver on its promises.

In the past few weeks, reformist politicians have made statements in Iranian media suggesting they will field a presidential candidate in 2013 - marking an important departure for the movement.

They boycotted parliamentary elections this year, leaving the legislature to be dominated by conservative hardliners backing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Islamic Republic’s ultimate authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“For how much longer should the reformists take a back seat?” asked Mohammad Reza Khatami, a former deputy parliament speaker and brother of reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami, in an interview with the newspaper Entekhab this month.

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