10 Inspiring Insights into Masoud Pezeshkian: Heart Surgeon and Reformist Politician

On the other hand, I see that some of our dear Turkmen compatriots have given up hope and intend to vote for Mr. Bezikian due to their identity and linguistic or provincial interests. I don’t have a precise way to measure how effective this factor is. If a dear fellow countryman chooses to vote for Mr. Bezikian for these reasons, they have the authority, and their opinion is respected. However, if you want my opinion, using such criteria is not considered a forward movement; it is not progress; it is regression.

But the fact that the reformers have closed their eyes to this or, much worse, are heartened by such a possibility, is a complete contradiction. Reformism is a national-social project, with a strong emphasis on its social aspect. There must be a strong social body with the same civic goals behind a capable cadre to achieve progress. The fact that Aziz Hamotani voted for Mr. Bezikian for linguistic and provincial reasons has nothing to do with the ideals of the reformist project. This implies that the reformers believe they can succeed using other people’s support without shared ideals.

The main strategy of the reformists—when they were at their peak, not during Rouhani’s indecisive and lackluster era—was summed up in the theory of “bargaining from above, pressure from below.” When a large part of the voting body votes for individuals with different concerns than the reformists, it indicates that there is no common ideal. How can this heterogeneous group help the reformists realize their ideas when there are no common concerns? This suggests that “the foundation of your strategy is weak.” If you don’t see this weakness, woe to you; if you see it and ignore it, then woe to all of us!