Ahmadinejad: The Poorest President In the World
30 October 2010By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid
As a critical day draws near in Iran, which will see
subsidies on basic commodities being lifted, Iranian
president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has launched a campaign
to portray himself as a poor man, a man without a
penny in his pocket; Ahmadinejad claims to drive a
1977 Peugeot 504, and says that his original salary as
a university lecturer did not exceed $250 per month.
[According to this campaign] Ahmadinejad only owns a
modest house in a poor neighbourhood in southern
Tehran, a house where he continued to reside until he
became president. Ahmadinejad claims to have resided
in this modest home even after he became Mayor of
Tehran, refusing to move into the palace that is the
official residence for this post.
All that has been said about his modest lifestyle and
poverty may be entirely true, however this must also
be subject to scepticism considering the position that
he currently holds. However Ahmadinejad cannot conceal
aspects of his lifestyle under the ragged coat that he
is keen to wear in Iran when he is seen dressed in
elegant suits during his most recent visit to New
York.
Ahmadinejad is not the only leader to try this;
numerous leaders have been eager to portray themselves
to the populace as being poor and common people.
However this quickly becomes nothing more than
propaganda, as was the case with Chinese leader Mao
Zedong. Mao pursued many who he deemed to be members
of the bourgeois, confiscating their property at the
same time that he himself was residing in a number of
luxurious palaces. This was also the case with leaders
in the Kremlin during the Communist Era, who led a
prosperous life enjoying special privileges. All
revolutionaries are keen to appear to the public as
being underprivileged. For example, prominent leaders
in Hamas previously distributed pictures of
themselves, living in modest homes. However, following
this, they were responsible for the destruction of
half of Gaza, contributing to further poverty and
fostering equality [amongst its people], albeit in
terms of destitution and suffering.
The underprivileged leader who is of the common people
is a form of propaganda that may convince the public
for a while, and may help in bringing this leader who
lives in the palace closer to the populate for a time,
however this is a façade that does not last for very
long and becomes irrelevant when he fails to manage
the state's affairs. This is a situation that
Ahmadinejad finds himself facing today. Ahmadinejad
will not benefit from portraying himself as a poor man
who has an old Peugeot in his presidential garage. In
the next few weeks, his government will lift subsidies
on meat, vegetables, fuel, diesel and other basic
commodities; people will suffer, and the poor will
become even poorer. Will the story of the poor
president convince them to tighten their belts? I
doubt it.
Many talk about the excessive wealth of their leaders,
but they would talk about this even more if their
leaders were impoverishing them. I believe that
Ahmadinejad will face difficult days to come,
regardless of his propaganda machine promoting the
story of the poorest president in the world, and in
fact he will need his suppressive forces and
Revolutionary Guards. The people will pay no attention
to this story when they are no longer able to feed
their children.
US President Barack Obama was born into a middle-class
family that was not rich at all. Once he entered the
White House, he immediately signed contracts to write
his biography in two volumes for $10 million.
Ahmadinejad could be both a great and wealthy leader
at the same time, if he could resolve the crisis in
Iran whose people are living in hardship due to the
policies adopted by Iran's mullahs, who are eager to
sit in front of television cameras and boast of their
poverty. Iran is in fact wealthier than the all of the
Gulf States, yet Iranians look to these states,
envious of their wealth, and wonder how the people of
their country, which is rich in oil, gas, and
agriculture, live upon subsidies and cheap propaganda.
©
EsinIslam.Com
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