Ahmadinejad rejects economic criticism ahead of vote

Source: Reuters

TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, dismissing criticism of his economic record ahead of next month's election, said on Saturday Iran was showing growth of 5-6 percent despite the global downturn.

Ahmadinejad's moderate rivals in the June 12 presidential vote have accused his government of squandering windfall revenue when oil prices were soaring, stoking inflation and leaving the country vulnerable when they started tumbling in mid-2008.

Analysts say high inflation and other economic bread-and-butter issues are likely to be a key battleground in the election campaign, possibly overshadowing the Islamic Republic's nuclear dispute with the West.

"We deeply believe that the economic situation of Iran these days is a stable one," the conservative president told a news conference for Iranian media broadcast live and translated by the English-language Press TV.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE54M1JQ20090523

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The fundamental(ist)s are strong!

"fundamentalshits"

:)

i can promise you this =)

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has taken a page from the GOP hard ball play book: Any criticism of criticism of him was a breach of "election law" bacause "Distortion of one's image is an offence." Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, has called on people to vote for an anti-western candidate - interpreted as a call to support Ahmadinejad.

So presumably criticism of Ahmadinejad is unpatriotic.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/24/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-iran-elections

I mean a slogan of

Re-elect Ahmadinejad...Sure he's run the economy into the ground, but he couldn't do a worse job this time.

Though I suspect that he may have ways to ensure that he stays in office regardless.