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| Mousavi accuses Ahmadinejad of ruining economy |
| 2009-05-27 |
| [Beirut Daily Star: Region] Iran's leading reformist presidential candidate attacked hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's handling of the economy, accusing him of mismanagement and driving a once rich Iran into poverty. Mir Hossein Mousavi and the two other candidates seeking to unseat the president in the June 12 election have hit Ahmadinejad hard on the economy, one of his most vulnerable points with voters hurting from rising unemployment and 25 percent inflation. "Iran is a rich country. Poverty is not our destiny. Its government's mismanagement that has taken us here," Mousavi told tens of thousands of cheering supporters Monday in his hometown of Tabriz, in northwestern Iran. While Ahmadinejad's hard-line rhetoric and his defiant pursuit of the country's nuclear program draws international attention, Iran's 70 million people are focused on the economy. Iran, under Ahmadinejad, took in record oil revenues when prices soared in the middle of last year, but Iranians complain that they are worse off. The president's reformist opponents, who seek an easing of social and political restrictions at home and better ties with the West, accuse him of spending too much time slamming the US and Israel and not enough time trying to fix the economy. His populist policies - including handouts to millions of citizens - have also been blamed for driving up prices, and candidates have accused him of using such payments to buy votes. "Gross national product has fallen in the past four years. This means people have become poorer. This must change," Mousavi said. Mousavi, who is remembered for his leadership as Iran's prime minister during the country's 1980-88 war with Iraq, said no justice can be achieved in a country while inflation stands at 25 percent. "A 25 percent inflation rate means making life hard for the people, it means poverty, a lack of security," he said. On Saturday, President Ahmadinejad said the inflation had nothing to do with his government's policies. |
| Posted by:Fred |