Marashi: Rouhani Should Replace Managers with Bold and Responsible Ones

Hosseini Marashi, spokesperson for the Construction Workers Party, says that with the results obtained in the 10th parliamentary elections, Hassan Rouhani has "appropriate tools" at his disposal and should replace some of his government managers with "bold, responsible, and energetic" ones. According to a report on Tuesday, April 2, by Tasnim News Agency, Mr. Marashi emphasized in a post published on his Telegram channel that "with the turtle-like movements" of the government's economic team, "the Iranian economy cannot be revived" and this action "requires bold decisions." This senior member of the Construction Workers Party wrote that the government's economic team should consider both economic growth and inflation together, rather than "putting all their efforts into controlling inflation while the growth index is of secondary importance to them." After Hassan Rouhani's government came to power, the inflation rate has been on a downward trend and has nearly halved compared to the previous government. However, the increase in the economic growth rate has not been consistent. In 2014, Iran's economic growth reached three percent, but this increase did not continue, and this figure was 0.7 percent in the first nine months of the previous year. Mr. Marashi continued his remarks by pointing to some of the problems in Iran's economy, such as the lack of new technologies for the "protection" of oil reservoirs and financial issues of factories, adding that "in the post-JCPOA conditions, several tens of billions of dollars in credit lines should be prepared for the country." He emphasized that "with the turtle-like movements of the economic team, the Iranian economy cannot be revived." This member of the Construction Workers Party concluded his remarks by stating that the Iranian president must look at the economy and the management of the country with a "new arrangement" and that the country must enter a new period of economic prosperity. Mr. Marashi had also stated on March 6, 2016, in an interview with Donya-e-Eqtesad newspaper that "the government needs to be repaired both at the cabinet level and at the provincial governor level." Saeed Hajarian, a reformist figure, also emphasized in August 2014 that Hassan Rouhani should "purge his forces." At the time of introducing Hassan Rouhani's cabinet, some media outlets in Iran reported that some ministers were introduced in "deals" with members of parliament. In this context, some media and reformist figures have stated that some governors and mayors were chosen based on the opinions of parliament members and are not aligned with the policies of Mr. Rouhani's government. Speculations about changing some of Hassan Rouhani's government managers after the formation of the 10th parliament arise while both reformist and principlist groups in Iran claim to hold the majority in this parliament.