Democracy, Iran-style

It doesn’t just happen in India. Personal attacks against political leaders, that is.

It doesn’t just happen in India. Personal attacks against political leaders, that is. Former Iran prime minister Mir Hussein Moussavi, now running for presidency, recently launched a blistering verbal assault against current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling him an extremist and accusing him of mismanagement. The unprecedented attack has got the Iranian press, used to parroting the government line, unsure of how to deal with the story. And they have more reason to worry, what with the race for the presidency growing increasingly tight. Moussavi is seen as a more moderate candidate and is likely to find support among women and the youth. He favours freedom of speech and press and has said he will try to lift the ban on private TV stations. However, he maintains he will not back down from the country’s nuclear programme, which was launched during his tenure as prime minister (1988-90). Rather, he assures that the country’s nuclear ambitions are peaceful.

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