海角大神

Iran鈥檚 eight presidential candidates聽sought to energize a lackluster election in the first debate of this election cycle, as each tried to stand out among the crowd of approved contenders in the聽June 14聽vote.聽

In a marathon four-hour debate on the themes of economic 鈥渏ustice,鈥� failing trust in government, and current mismanagement, the mild-mannered men criticized present and past administrations but did not聽put forward their own concrete plans.聽

The debate comes as Iran鈥檚 Islamic regime, self-proclaimed the 鈥淕overnment of God鈥澛爄n 1979,聽seeks to聽convince the large number of Iranians angry over a violent and fraud-marred 2009 election聽to聽still聽cast their ballot,聽demonstrating faith in the political system.

The stakes are high for this vote聽because it is聽the first presidential election since 2009, when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad鈥檚 declared landslide victory prompted millions of Iranians to take to the streets in protest over fraud and led to months of lethal street violence.聽Patriotic video montages before and after the debate on IRIB state TV showed large crowds voting in past elections, along with the father of Iran鈥檚 revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the current supreme leader of more than two decades, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, both casting ballots.

As they laid out their thoughts on Iran's struggling economy 鈥� the聽predominant issue this election听鈥撀�none of the candidates used the word 鈥渃hange.鈥� But in spelling out a host of problems like soaring inflation and rampant unemployment 鈥� exacerbated by severe sanctions imposed by the US and Europe 鈥撀營ran鈥檚 presidential hopefuls promised to lead Iran differently.聽The candidates discussed widespread corruption, growing inequalities and the daily struggle for many ordinary Iranians as casually as many of their fellow citizens do.

Mohsen Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guard commander and past presidential candidate, said that during visits to聽farms, markets and factories in more than 250 townships during the past six months,聽he found disappointment that many of the promises of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution remain unfulfilled.聽

鈥淚鈥檝e realized that the major聽ideas聽that we鈥檝e been speaking about the last 30 years, we are quite far away from this ideal,鈥� said Mr. Rezaei, according to a simultaneous translation of the debate by state-run PressTV.

鈥淚鈥檓 referring to discrimination, bribery and so on in the administrative system, the judiciary and many institutions. This way does not allow the fair distribution of wealth,鈥� said Rezaei. 鈥淥ur friends who also come from those [past and present] governments should tell us why there is such a gap between the different [classes] of society. It鈥檚 not time to just chant these slogans.鈥�

A jolt of electricity appeared to enter the presidential race聽with聽the聽surprise last-minute registration of wild card candidates聽Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former two-time president and rival of Khamenei, and the controversial chosen successor of Mr. Ahmadinejad, in-law Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. But both men were disqualified by the Guardian Council, which winnowed the field from 686 to the current eight,聽most of whom are聽hardline conservatives, with a couple of moderate reformists.

Since 2009 politics in Iran have been shepherded to the far right, under the guidance of Ayatollah Khamenei. The reformist Green Movement has been crushed, accused of 鈥渟edition,鈥� and its leaders 鈥� both presidential candidates in that 2009 race, and former senior officials, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi 鈥� remain under house arrest.

The 'resistance economy'

Several candidates echoed Khamenei's exhortation that Iran has created a "resistance" economy in the face of sanctions and pressure from the West.聽

Hassan Rouhani, the only cleric in the聽lineup,聽served as Iran鈥檚 nuclear negotiator a decade ago, when the reform-minded President Mohammad Khatami was in power. Iran has 鈥渞esorted鈥� to imports instead of building its own production capacity, and this is the 鈥渂iggest injustice,鈥� he said. Iran also needs to use its oil wealth more wisely, he added.

鈥淲e have a political slogan of resistance, but when it comes to the economy, when it comes to practice, then there is no resistance,鈥� said Rouhani. 鈥淭his shows that there is no justice, there is no balance between the real requirements and our performance.鈥�

Saeed Jalili, Iran鈥檚 current top nuclear negotiator聽and聽seen as one of the most conservative candidates and fully loyal to Khamenei, said Iran could overcome the precipitous drop in oil income that has resulted from a US and European effort to block Iranian exports.

鈥淒o we call this an opportunity or a threat?鈥� asked Mr. Jalili, who began his remarks by greeting fellow veterans of the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. 鈥淚t looks like this is an opportunity. The more dependence we have on oil, the less independent [we are], the bigger the chance we can use the other potentialities and capacities of the country that are substantial.鈥�

He said Iranians could 鈥渢ap into鈥� software and hardware, and that Iran had a 鈥渞elative advantage in other areas鈥� such as transit, and providing added value to raw materials.

Another conservative candidate, former parliament speaker Gholam Haddadadel,聽said Iran should boost non-oil exports and 鈥渁void wasting the money that makes us more dependent on petro-dollars. 鈥� By strengthening our financial discipline, we鈥檒l be able to explore new avenues.鈥�

鈥淭he resistance economy is one of the issues that can in fact immunize the country,鈥� said Mr. Haddadadel. 鈥淚t means just making a change, or renovating the economy鈥�. My government in the future must actually have the Islamic lifestyle becoming dominant in this country. We cannot have a Western lifestyle.鈥�

Can trust be bought?

In many instances the candidates spoke in sweeping terms, as if the Islamic Republic聽were still in its earliest years and had not already had a generation to implement its founding principles, such as rectifying the wide social and economic imbalances that existed during the monarchy.

鈥淭he first part of justice is the fact that the government needs to remove its hand from people鈥檚 pocket,鈥� said Mohammad Gharazi, a former oil minister in the 1980s. 鈥淛ustice means in the first place that the hand of those who are removing the money from the pockets of the poor should be cut off. This is the result of inflation,鈥� said Mr. Gharazi. 鈥淭hese inefficient policies and plans that have put in place by previous governments have led to the weaker and poorer people, and a stronger and richer rich people."

Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a conservative whose respected work in the Iranian capital gives him a lead there, said 鈥減eople must feel鈥� that economic justice is being done, and that the revolution is working for them. Instead, investors faced the risk of takeover and loss, and Iran鈥檚 IT sector, education and even internet speeds were lacking.

鈥淭here are lots of capacity for production and development,鈥� said Mr. Qalibaf, a former police commander and Revolutionary Guard officer. 鈥淪ecurity is very important for investors in out country. [But] there is no security for investment. We don鈥檛 fight corruption in the right way鈥︹��

The root issue for some candidates was trust in Iran鈥檚 Islamic system of government, and its leadership. Ali Akbar Velayati, a former veteran foreign minister who now advises Khamenei, said adherence to belief in supreme clerical rule, known as velayat-e faqih 鈥撀爈oyalty to the post now occupied by Khamenei 鈥� was required of all candidates.

The new government should "buy back the trust of the people" and include an economist at the highest level, said Mr. Velayati. Qalibaf also promised to stabilize the currency and rein in inflation: "We are in need of people's trust, and within six months we will gain [it]," he said.