Khamenei, Meeting with the Medical Cabinet and Continuing the Path of Raisi's Government?

The statements of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, during his first meeting with the fourteenth government delegation, had a high correspondence with the characteristics of this government and the role assigned to it by the Guardian Council. Khamenei's recommendations and suggestions on September 6 were largely the same as those he has repeatedly expressed over his thirty-five years of leadership, often in a wishful manner and contrary to the demands of society. In addition to the polite remarks about the importance of holding ministerial positions and the necessity for the government's success, there is a significant similarity between the key points of Khamenei's remarks in his first meeting with Ibrahim Raisi's government. However, overall, the leadership of the Islamic Republic seems to pay more attention to Raisi's government, considering it more familiar. Khamenei spoke longer with them, most of which was educational, teaching how to manage ministries. In the meeting with the Medical Cabinet, the educational aspect was relatively less pronounced. To better understand the position of the Medical Cabinet, comparing the main points of Khamenei's remarks in the first meeting with the thirteenth and fourteenth government delegations is useful. In September 2021, Khamenei emphasized that the country was in a difficult situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and solving the problems of inflation and livelihood, as well as controlling the COVID crisis, were considered the main priorities of the government. However, in the discourse, he introduced the reconstruction of revolutionary thought and the revival of lost hope as the main task of Raisi's government. Khamenei confirmed Masoud Pezeshkian's report about the coordination of the fourteenth cabinet with him, while also noting that being revolutionary does not contradict rationality and must be thoughtful so that 'movement on the rails of the revolution' occurs in all management. His concept of 'revolution' has a specific meaning based on extremism that rejects the foundations of conventional rationality and only uses it instrumentally to achieve goals within the framework of a Shia-centric Islamic fundamentalist discourse. Other topics he elaborated on included 'populism', 'continuous provincial trips and engaging with the people', 'a populist lifestyle away from elitism', 'honest reporting to the people', 'apologizing to the people for mistakes', 'justice attachment for all approvals and plans', 'youthfulness of the government', 'utilizing elites outside the government', 'combating corruption in culture and active presence in cultural warfare', 'anti-corruption in the economic sphere', and 'economic diplomacy', which he requested to be included in the government's duties and to establish an operational program for them. In the meeting with the Medical Cabinet, most of these axes were repeated in different terms, but new axes included: 'efforts for population growth', 'regulating cyberspace to address threats and seize opportunities', 'listing committed, revolutionary, young, and motivated characteristics as conditions for managers and experts used in ministries', 'referring to faithful and honest experts who believe in domestic capabilities', 'not using forces with an external outlook', 'pursuing the infrastructural layers of artificial intelligence', and 'not relying on the enemy and being situational in interactions'. The mentioned new axes do not differ significantly and are more a result of the different conditions at the start of the activities of both governments. Khamenei endorsed Pezeshkian's revelation about his intervention in cabinet formation, but as expected, he evaded responsibility by calling it advice! Pezeshkian's statements about coordinating his cabinet members with Khamenei became controversial, while the content of Pezeshkian's narrative went beyond mere advice and had a commanding aspect; just as he dictated points to them during the meeting with ministers, independent of Pezeshkian's promises and his electoral headquarters. Khamenei has not only confirmed or emphasized but has also directly or implicitly opposed. Otherwise, Pezeshkian would not say that the chosen composition was not his priorities. However, the fact that the leader of the Islamic Republic did not mention revolutionary reconstruction in the meeting with the Medical Cabinet may initially seem like a retreat, but a deeper exploration of the matter strengthens the hypothesis that, considering his definitions of Raisi's government and his actions as the criteria for correct movement, Khamenei sees the Medical Cabinet as a continuation of Raisi's government within the framework of the 'revolutionary' discourse. He considered Rouhani's government a deviation from the aforementioned discourse and therefore asked Raisi's government to think about its revival. He even claimed that the people were hopeless after eight years of Rouhani's government, which Raisi had to repair. However, in the meeting with the Medical Cabinet, which, according to official statistics, received fewer votes than Raisi, he did not mention the revival of weakened hope! Khamenei's confidence in the political and cultural management of the Medical Cabinet is such that he felt no need to emphasize the importance of combating cultural invasion! His insistence on regulating cyberspace while extensive filtering and various restrictions are imposed on it indicates a will that seeks to increase restrictions and maintain a guiding outlook. Contrary to Khamenei's narrative, the regulation of cyberspace in Western countries is, firstly, conducted within the framework of democracy and, secondly, bound by the principles of free information flow, with restrictions aimed at defending people's rights and foundations and preventing organized crime, terrorism, and trafficking. However, in the Islamic Republic, as an authoritarian regime, the principle of media freedom and the human right to ownership have not been accepted, and a paternalistic and controlling approach has been prescribed and implemented. This recommendation contradicts Pezeshkian's promises regarding lifting filtering and restrictions. In foreign policy, similar to Raisi's government, the emphasis was on neutralizing sanctions, not relying on the 'enemy', and looking inward, which again does not indicate a change in the foreign policy atmosphere. The confrontational strategy in foreign policy will continue, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must find a way for temporary reconciliation and advancing this strategy. The emphasis on expert work was also tied to the term 'faithful', ultimately stabilizing the paradigm of commitment over expertise and limiting senior and mid-level governance positions to loyalists of the legal and actual structure of the Guardian Council. Khamenei's definition of expertise is similar to his recommendation to Raisi's government in linking the 'revolutionary' approach with the 'rational' attribute, which results in disruption in bureaucracy. The vast majority of the ministers in the Medical Cabinet are all forces that have grown within this framework and have acquired skills through trial and error in managerial positions and in the absence of meritocracy. The recommendation for the president's presence in the field and ignoring reports prepared in governing institutions and acting outside the defined mechanisms and division of labor shows another aspect of contradiction with bureaucracy and knowledge-based management. The selection of young managers, given the mentioned criteria, the security confrontations of previous years, and Pezeshkian's claim that his government is a coalition of political factions, but in reality shows a unified face in the selection of conservative and obedient figures to the Guardian Council, makes it difficult to engage capable and popular forces outside of principlists, conservative reformists, neutral forces, and opportunists without attracting the attention of intelligence institutions. Overall, Khamenei's opening remarks with the members of the fourteenth government, considering Pezeshkian's claim of absolute obedience to the orders and opinions of the leader of the Islamic Republic, strengthen the analysis that no meaningful change is expected in the current political situation, and the Medical Cabinet will move along the path laid out by Raisi's government.