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Khatami Faces Tougher Task with Renewed Mandate
As expected by both his supporters and rivals, Iran's President Mohammad Khatami secured another awesome win in Friday's presidential election.
The 57-year-old Shiite cleric garnered over 21 million votes, or 77 percent of the total cast, getting renewed mandate from the people to make the Islamic republic a more open civil society.
As reformists again turned buoyant for Khatami's resounding victory over conservatives, the question is how far this mildly beaming president can push ahead with his reform programs in a society dominated by straight-faced Mullahs who have said "No" to his endeavor.
A BIG YES TO KHATAMIMore than two decades after the Islamic revolution, more people are growing impatient with strict social restrictions. They turned especially enthusiastic in re-electing, or re-selecting, the mild Khatami, who relishes social freedom as much as the rank and file do.
"We cherish every sip of the social freedom Mr. Khatami has brought us, especially the freedom of expression," said a 19-year- old university student who called himself Abdullah. He gave a thumb-up to his hero at a Tehran polling station Friday.
Khatami's four years in office have led a blossom of independent publications. Thanks to his open endorsement of a free press, the much-politicized Iranians now have more channels to make themselves heard, which is unimaginable a decade or so ago.
Equally noticeable is the ease of lifestyle in Iran. While the hijab, or Islamic dress code, is still compulsory for all females over nine years old in public places, the society is becoming less intolerant to more casual dressing.
Unlike the old generation of women who cover from head to toe in chadors, a trademark since the 1979 Islamic revolution, rebellious girls now wear designer jeans and deliberately leave a strand or two of hairs uncovered in the affluent northern part of Tehran.
And there are also more open interactions between sexes with young couples no longer fearing of being taken to moral police for strolling hand-in-hand in public.
"Young people need to breath fresh air," one middle-aged woman in favor of Khatami's social reform policy told Xinhua Friday, adding "I appreciate Khatami's personal freedom program."
Although the support for Khatami has been strong, the president is continually hampered in his efforts to carry out his policies. At every corner he encounters resistance from a host of conservative-dominated institutions.
POLITICAL GAME NOT OVER Khatami's past tenure was, in his own words, "a tunnel of crisis," marked by major setbacks and heavy pressures from his conservative opponents.
The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has the final say in almost every matter; and the conservative, taking control of many powerful institutions including the judiciary and the military, were closing in on the reformists.
Khatami has achieved limited political freedom the hard way. He had seen dozens of pro-reform newspapers and publications shut down after the supreme leader personally intervened, calling the press' practices incompatible with adherence to Islam.
Reformist journalists and publishers were put into prison prior to the election campaign as the president remained helpless.
Out of fear that changes could erode their entrenched influence over nearly every aspect of life, conservatives reacted harshly by accusing him of neglecting the country's economy for political freedom.
Iran's foreign debts are reportedly at 9 billion U.S. dollars while 80 percent of its economy relies on petrodollars, making it very vulnerable to oil price fluctuations.
The inflation stood at 19.9 percent in 2000 while some 16 percent of its swelling 63 million population remain unemployed, which is viewed as Khatami's Achilles heel and the conservatives had spared no efforts in thrashing his economic policies in a bid to tarnish his reputation among people.
Khatami has warned that any government coming to power over the next 10 years should give top priority to ridding unemployment, which hit young people hardest.
Ready to continue the uphill battle, Khatami, architect of the political change movement, has said that social, economic and political reforms were "indispensable and undeniable" for Iran, a nation once again deposited trust in him Friday.
There certainly are tougher days ahead for Khatami, who has indicated his fully awareness of the "grave responsibility" to lead the country and people.
Khatami has been chosen by the people to lead, and it is also his own choice to serve the nation. He will have to carry out people's mandate, deliver promises on freedom and democracy, and at the same time fine-tune the tempo accordingly in the face of conservative opposition, to allow his reform programs a limited success.
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