Concerns about the Iranian people's "distrust" of the government

The head of the Omid faction expressed concern about the “decline in public trust in the government.” Another member of the faction also reported “serious damage” to public trust. According to a seminary instructor, people have developed a “special attitude” toward the “system as a whole.”

Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the so-called “Islamic Republic Day,” a number of reformists have warned about the people’s “distrust” of the government and expressed concern about it. On Farvardin 1, 1979, which is named “Islamic Republic Day” in the Iranian calendar, the results of the referendum on the Islamic Republic system were announced. According to the announced results, more than 98 percent of the participants in the referendum, who were asked the question “Islamic Republic, yes or no,” voted in favor of the new political system.

Mohammad Reza Aref, head of the Omid faction of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, expressed concern in an Instagram post on the occasion about the "decline in people's trust in the government" and called for "paying attention to the capacities of youth and reforming methods and decisions to improve the situation in the country."

Aref wrote in his note: "I believe that after four decades of the establishment of the Islamic Republic, a serious pathology of the performance of these four decades should be conducted with a view to the future."

"The current situation is not good."

This well-known figure of the so-called reform movement, while referring to the "successes" and "shortcomings" of the Islamic Republic's system, stated: "What worries me these days is the people's trust in the government. The performance of our officials over the past four decades has not been such that people's trust in the system has increased; rather, unfortunately, we are witnessing a decline in this trust."

According to Aref: "The most important principle in strengthening people's trust in a political system is the honesty of officials and their empathy with the people. Let's accept that the current situation in the country is not a good one, and the way out of the current situation is to believe in and believe in internal capacities, use the capacity of our beloved youth, and fundamentally reform some methods and decisions."

Mohammad Reza Aref added: "Those who want to block the path to reform for the sake of vested interests should know that their actions will ultimately harm the Islamic system. In the year called the Production Boom, instead of looking at this strategic slogan as a mere slogan and holding various conferences, fundamental steps should be taken operationally and with serious determination, empathy, and coordination of all the pillars of the system to realize this slogan, so that with the help of God Almighty, we can witness an improvement in the living conditions of the people, who are the main assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The head of the reformist faction in the Iranian parliament has finally called for "setting aside the spirit of guardianship and narrow-mindedness" with the aim of "further strengthening the foundations of the Islamic Republic."

Abolfazl Soroush, another reformist representative of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also stated in an interview with the website "Roydad24", the text of which was published on April 1, that the "hope" and "trust" that he believes created a "current of hope" in society have been severely damaged.

Referring to the process of forming the tenth term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly called "People" and "People's Hope", this member of the Omid faction added: "However, from the very first days of its inception, the Tenth Assembly conveyed messages to society that showed that not all those who entered Baharestan were determined to form a "People's Hope" and "People's Hope" and that the "People's Hopes" who adhered to what they had promised in the elections have, in the most optimistic scenario, won one-third of the seats in the Tenth Assembly."

“Serious damage” to public trust

Abolfazl Soroush emphasized: "Although the record of the past three years of the 10th Parliament is defensible and successful in many matters, in some cases it did not meet the expectations of the voters of March 27, 2015, and this caused the "hope" and "trust" that the Omid movement had created in society to be seriously damaged."

Referring to the impact of the "competitive electoral environment" on the performance of representatives in the final year of the 10th Parliament, the representative further stated that what he considers "important and noteworthy" is "restoring "public trust" in the process and path that pursues reform within the country's borders and in the hands of committed and compassionate elites and managers."

Like Aref, Soroush also emphasized that “the country is going through difficult times,” saying: “On the one hand, people are not having a good time due to the economic and livelihood problems imposed on the country, and on the other hand, the course of affairs and the activities of officials have targeted their hopes for internal reform. In these special circumstances, the effort to rebuild “public trust” and restore “hope” to society is the most important measure that the Tenth Parliament must devise a plan for.”

The Tehran representative in the parliament adds: "I believe that rebuilding "public trust" is the most important step and action that the Tenth Parliament should pay attention to in the final year of its activity and find a cure for it by identifying the causes of its creation and how it manifests and emerges in society."

The "special situation" of the people in relation to the "totality of the system"

Mohsen Gharaviyan, a lecturer at the Qom Seminary and a supporter of the "moderation" of the 11th and 12th governments, also referred to the "disappointment created" among the people in the clerics and reformists, saying that they have developed a special attitude towards the "principle" and "the system as a whole."

This political activist stated in an interview with "Roydad24" on Monday: "Most of the country's problems are related to the economic sector, which has challenged the entire system, and people have developed a certain attitude towards the principle of the system and the system as a whole."

Gharaviyan sees the source of economic problems in “pressure levers” that “interfere in the management of the country and create a lot of atmospheres, for example, there are extremists in the parliament who constantly criticize and disrupt the spiritual and psychological atmosphere of the people.”

Mohsen Gharouyan claims that “the government is doing its utmost, but it cannot achieve results and move forward,” adding: “Therefore, I believe there are obstacles and stonewalling at work.”

This seminary instructor also points out the government's problems in the field of foreign policy: "We see that the Syrian president enters the country, but our foreign minister is not even informed! So what does this behavior mean? Some people make trips that need to be coordinated and supervised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but coordination is not done. Naturally, this behavior disrupts the country's management." Gharvian emphasizes: "I consider these behaviors and problems to be the result of the interventions of pressure centers."

Mohsen Gharaviyan also considers the delay in the implementation of bills related to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to be one of the "numerous barriers and obstacles" that have stood in the way of the Rouhani government.

Referring to the recent remarks of Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghadam, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, who said, “I wonder how people allow themselves to express opinions on issues like FATF,” the political activist clarified: “These are the same people who participate in rallies, 22 Bahman, etc., and at that time their intelligence was taken into account, but now they say, ‘We are sorry that people are expressing their opinions!’ These are the same people who elected you to make decisions, but these people cannot even make decisions. Then these same people are disrespecting the people’s votes and views. These words show that if the officials felt the pain of the people up close and stood in line for meat like them, they would not speak like this.”

Gharvian added: "Now the masses are no longer looking for slogan-oriented people. They are looking for rational people! And they are choosing rational people. Whether from the fundamentalist or reformist spectrum, people have realized that slogan-raising has no effect and they want pragmatic people with high understanding and comprehension who are aware of the pain and feelings of the people to come to work and be able to solve the problems of the people."

Mohsen Gharaviyan finally emphasized: "Rouhani should know that he has made promises to the people, some of which he has fulfilled, but some of which he has not! People should know that the promises and slogans have been objectively fulfilled. Otherwise, the people's presence on the scene will decrease."

“Disappointment Alarm”

Various officials of the Islamic Republic and political figures close to the Iranian government have repeatedly expressed concern and warned about public distrust of the government in recent weeks and months. Some have also presented evidence that indicates this distrust and "disappointment" of the people in government officials.

Mehdi Chamran, a prominent fundamentalist activist, had said on April 28 that if elections were held in Iran, “more than half of the people” would not participate. Chamran, of course, had stated that the reason for this was the people’s dissatisfaction with the government. This fundamentalist figure had spoken about the non-participation of “more than half of the people” in today’s hypothetical elections in Iran, while senior officials of the Islamic Republic have always described the people’s presence in the elections as a sign of their “trust” in the governance system, “durability and authority,” and “acceptability of the system.”

Morteza Mobleg, a member of the Reformists' Supreme Policy-Making Council, also called "people's frustration and hopelessness" "very harmful and dangerous" on April 27, saying: "Public trust is not created solely by words and advice, especially in situations where there have been previous talks that have not been acted upon. As a result, public trust declines and its level drops. To restore public trust, more attention should be paid to "action" than to words and advice."

Mohammad Khatami, who is considered the leader of the reform movement, emphasized about a month ago: "It is very difficult to tell people to come and vote. Do you think that in the next round of elections, the people will listen to you and me at the polls? I think it is unlikely unless there is a change in the next year."

Iran has witnessed widespread protests across various sectors of society, particularly in the past few years. Many critics blame “domestic problems” and the government’s inability to manage economic woes as the main reason for the current chaotic situation, the widespread protests against it, and the spread of public distrust.

This public distrust, which has increased significantly, especially after the protests of January 2017 and August 2018, has sounded the alarm bell for government officials, and many of them have warned of the growing spread of public discontent and the risk of “collapse” and “collapse” after these unrests. Ali Rabiei, Iran’s former Minister of Labor, stated in late January that the number of cities involved in the January 2017 protests was “160 cities” and said: “The nature of the unrest in 2017 is a limited and regional type of rebellion, but it is dangerous and it is sounding a warning siren that could become more widespread.”

Some analysts, such as Fayyaz Zahid, believe that 70 percent of the people supported the January 2017 protests, but did not take to the streets. This reformist activist said in mid-March that the Iranian people are disillusioned with the reformists and have lost trust in the government. Hesameddin Ashna, an advisor to the Iranian president, also emphasized in late January that there is still a possibility of incidents similar to the January 2017 protests recurring, because, according to him, the “causes” of the protests have not disappeared.

Source: DW