President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad contested the June elections on a platform of economic and social justice. When he spelt out his manifesto at large public gatherings during his election campaign, he must have had a fairly good idea of how he would go about delivering justice, if elected. Obviously his poll promises couldn’t have come out of thin air and it is quite certain that he genuinely had an agenda to address the people’s grievances and alleviate their problems.
It is more than three months now since the key presidential vote, which saw the political tide turn in favor of the ordinary masses and their basic needs of food, housing and decent living standards. The new cabinet has also since been installed and approved by the Majlis and so there is no reason why the administrative wheels should not start grinding at a faster pace and hasten the process of implementing the key election pledges.
Of course, some of the most important posts in the government like oil, welfare and social security are still vacant and need to be filled at the earliest so as to contribute to the process of meeting the people’s immediate concerns through realistic and workable programs.
Some experts maintain that half the country’s population of nearly 70 million has slipped under the poverty line as against the official figure of 15 million, with acute poverty afflicting six million people.
Bridging the gap between the rich and poor or ushering in an egalitarian society does not mean making the higher and middle classes of the society poorer by lowering their economic status and bringing them on par with the poorer strata of the society. Rather the status of the poorer and the lower middle classes should be elevated by increasing their purchasing power and savings and pushing them up the economic ladder so as to join the ranks of the higher and well-to-do sections.
Unfortunately, the latter has not been the case and if we take the people’s purchasing and consumption power -- given their paltry salaries and wages -- as a yardstick for measuring the standards of living, official figures belie the economic reality and it is easy to conclude that millions more have fallen on hard days.
However, things look auspicious for the new president and his government. In the background of the overwhelming mandate given to Ahmadinejad on June 24 and the record oil prices that have filled the coffers of the state treasury, there should be nothing to stop the government from speedily and efficiently delivering the goods to the masses.
Iranians are eagerly waiting to see what action the new government takes in terms of resolving the immediate problems of costly day-to-day essentials and runaway inflation. Prices of basic food have not declined in any way; nor are they being controlled through executive orders and price tags. Rather, some essential foodstuff has not only become dearer but also scarce.
So far, apart from reiterating that the government will work to reduce the gap between the rich and poor, create an egalitarian society and distribute oil wealth in a fair manner for the welfare of the people as a whole, nothing substantive has yet been seen by way of performance. Concern for the poor and downtrodden should not remain only in slogans.
Indeed, it might be too early to expect results but some things like rising prices and expensive goods do need to be tackled urgently through executive directives and announcements.
The holy month of Ramadhan is here. In the coming weeks, consumption levels will double or even triple the normal times, since the faithful fast from dawn to dusk and the fast-breaking meals or Iftar are usually held with close kith and kin and friends. But needless to say the once sumptuous Iftar spread has been fast turning frugal over the years.
Ramadhan is said to take people closer to God. Hopefully, it will also bring the government closer to the people and their problems.