How Rouhani may be destroying his own Moderation camp
If Iran’s president continues to focus on his future rather than the present, his continued failure to fulfill his campaign promises is likely to herald the end of his political career.
Twenty months after the passing of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Moderation camp — which the former two-time president symbolized — is being undermined by his protege: Hassan Rouhani.
Although it officially came into being with Rouhani’s first presidential campaign in 2013 — choosing "Moderation" as his electoral slogan — it was actually founded by Rafsanjani, who passed away in January 2017.
Iran’s conservatives were largely unified until 2005 when then-Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sought to try his luck in the presidential elections. His candidacy was announced concurrently with the emergence of several hard-line groups within the camp that had played a significant role in the 2003 city and village council elections, which handed Ahmadinejad the mayorship. Amid his presidential bid, other conservative candidates also went their own way — even as the conservatives’ electoral committee had opted to throw its weight behind Ali Larijani, who presently serves as parliament speaker. This was a turning point as then-candidate Rafsanjani ended up seeing many of his associates support Ahmadinejad, whom he lost to in a presidential runoff.
What should not be neglected here is the fact that the disagreement between the conservatives and Rafsanjani dates back to the latter’s presidency (1989-1997). This gap was gradually widened over the years, reaching its climax in 2005 when the conservative camp and senior clerics stood behind Ahmadinejad.
