Supporters and opponents of Iran’s new president agree on one point: Hassan Rohani has a Herculean effort ahead of him.
“No government in Iranian history has had as many problems as mine,” the moderate cleric has himself said.
The list of problems left behind by Rohani’s predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is long. An economic crisis, a nuclear row with the West, international sanctions, threats of attack from Israel and many more are waiting for the 64-year-old who is to be sworn in tomorrow.
The economic crisis that has brought the most suffering to the country’s people is principally the result of the nuclear programme and the international sanctions brought on by it. Rectifying the situation therefore is not just a matter of economic policy but first of all of diplomacy.
The West has relentlessly campaigned to isolate Iran during the presidency of Ahmadinejad whose uncompromising course and provocative rhetoric didn’t help Tehran also.
Remaining at Iran’s side now are only Syria - now struggling in a bloody civil war - and Ahmadinejad’s leftist friends in Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
“Despite all the problems I am confident,” Rohani said recently. He has pledged to lead Iran through rational and moderate policies to reconciliation with the world.
This may be easier said than done, as without abandoning the 10-year-old nuclear dispute there will be little to do on the foreign policy side. Rohani therefore is working diligently on assembling the trio that will be dealing with the issue - the foreign minister, the head of the nuclear programme and chief nuclear negotiator.
But in issues like the Syrian conflict, Iran’s policies under a new president are not expected to change.
Domestically, Rohani had plumped particularly hard for freedom of opinion during his election campaign, and high on his agenda will be the release of political prisoners.
“One cannot lock people up every time they have a different opinion,” he had said.
Rohani will be installed in office by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On Monday he will be sworn in by parliament.
Rohani is reportedly planning to release Mir Hussein Mussawi and Mehdi Karrubi, opposition leaders who have been under house arrest for two years, on the festival of Eid al-Fitr.
But in the nuclear row, Rohani knows that in the end a change of course is only through negotiation with the US.
In the nuclear dispute, an agreement without the seal approval from the US is unimaginable. Despite strong criticism within his own country, Rohani is unlikely to rule out a compromise with the US.
“When it serves the affairs and interests of the country, you should even be willing to speak with the village elder,” he had said.
