AHMADINEJAD
TEHRAN (AP):
CRITICS CHARGE that ultraconservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 1980s-style radicalism is harming Iran both at home and abroad - to the point where even his natural allies in Parliament have dealt him three crushing rejections on his choice for the all-important Oil Minister.
The former Tehran mayor, however, has appeared unfazed as pragmatists in the ruling hierarchy grow restless with Ahmadinejad's isolationist decision making and have started looking for a way to contain him.
"Ahmadinejad's behaviour has annoyed many fellow conservatives. That he doesn't like to consult with anybody outside his few circle of old friends is a reality. He doesn't consult even with knowledgeable people in his own camp," conservative writer Ghodratollah Rahmani said.
CONSULTATIONS
Even extremists within the hard-line camp want Ahmadinejad to be more responsive to their advice.
"If he doesn't want to hear no for a fourth time, he has to consult with people outside his circle of friends," said Mohammad Nabi Habibi, leader of the hard-line party, the Islamic Coalition Society.
Since taking office in August, Ahmadinejad has jettisoned Iran's policy of detenté and moderation and has launched a massive purging of the govern-ment, replacing all pragmatist veterans with former military commanders and inexperienced hard-liners.
His aim: Installing a new generation of rulers to revive the radical fundamentalist goals Iran sought in the 1980s under the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, father of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled pro-Western Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
The purge has been costly. All pragmatists, including those seeking better ties with the West, have either already lost or likely will lose their posts, pushing Iran toward an even more radical stance in the already volatile Middle East.
HUMILIATING DEFEAT
The changes under Ahmadinejad assume even greater importance given the intense international dispute over Iran's nuclear programme.
Ahmadinejad's call last month for Israel to be "wiped off the map" highlighted international concerns about his foreign policy and led to further isolation of Iran. Iranian moderates said the president had harmed his country.
Now, Ahmadinejad's friends are becoming enemies.
Ahmadinejad suffered a humiliating defeat last week when his choice for Oil Minister was dismissed for a third time, an unprecedented failure for an Iranian President.
While Parliament is dominated by Ahmadinejad's conservative allies, the president's isolationist behaviour and his failure to consult with Parliament on key appointments to the Cabinet have annoyed fellow lawmakers, producing the crushing negative response.
Pragmatists within the ruling establishment now express fears that Ahmadinejad's radical agenda has sidelined a cadre of wise men at home and isolated the country abroad.
