The debate between Ahmadinejad and Mir Hosein Musavi, the two most hopeful presidential candidates sent shockwaves through Iran last night. Ahmadinejad attacked all his critiques in this debate, including some influential figures of the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian president seemed to be nervous when appearing on the TV, though his trademark smirk still remained on his face and compared to Musavi he was far more eloquent, showing full mastery over what he was going to say. Characteristically, he was in a confident, combative mood.
Ahmadinejad's primary tactic was the one he has followed since the last presidential elections: to introduce as himself as a single-handed champion against corruption of other politicians and as a victim of endless plots which want to topple his sinless government. So it was not at all odd that all through the debate he made the utmost efforts to link Musavi with Hashemi Rafsanjani (who is unpopular among many Iranians and for many as an epitome of financial corruption). Ahmadinejad quasi-explicitly called Musavi and the other two candidates puppets of archenemy Rafsanjani.
But Ahmadinejad's slams were far from over. He attributed criticisms against his government to his efforts to cut off the hands of officials from country's resources. Some jaws probably dropped when he accused sons of Rafsanjani and Nategh Nouri (conservatives' orchestrator), Gholam Hosein Karbaschi (former mayor of Tehran, protégé of Rafsanjani and currently Karrubi's nominee for vice presidency), Safaee Farahani (well-known reformist and industrial manager) of gaining illegitimate wealth during the years of Musavi and Rafsanjani. Ahmadinejad claimed that in a message to a Persian Gulf state (most probably Saudi Arabia) Rafsanjani had promised to topple his government in six month. He went as far as showing the documents related to educational degrees of Musavi's wife, in front of cameras, accusing her of obtaining her degrees illegally. "Do you want me to say it? Do you want me to say it?" he said in a threatening tone to Musavi before revealing the documents.
Musavi on the other hand, seemed to be intimidated by Ahmadinejad's aggressive style until the last minutes. A gentleman adhering to moral principles -like Khatami-, Musavi stayed calm during Ahmadinejad's bitter attacks, even when he was shown a picture of his wife by Ahmadinejad, which was probably offensive to him. Compared to the president, Musavi was far from eloquent, interrupting the flow of his talks with irritating pauses and slips. His criticisms against Ahmadinejad were not that clear and at times redundant. However, an occassion like this debate is the only chance for reformists to express their criticisms of the current affairs in the state-run TV which heavily supports Ahmadinejad.
Musavi's focus was on Ahmadinejad's foreign diplomacy, accusing him of adventurism, delusion, shallowness and performing diplomatic shows. He specifically pointed to Ahmadinejad's remarks on Holocaust, his hooplas over nuclear program, release of English sailors after Blaire's threat and Durban II conference. Defying laws passed by the parliament and verdicts issued by the judiciary were also other points addressed by Musavi, who arraigned Ahmadinejad of paving the way for dictatorship with his whimsical orders.
In brief, my personal opinion is that Ahmadinejad stole the show from Musavi with his combative style. He had made mincemeat of Musavi up to the last ten minutes of the show, when it was Musavi's turn to say his final words which ended the debate. That was when Musavi's gentlemanly behavior helped him to recover from all the beats by Ahmadinejad. His calmness at this part apparently irritated Ahmadinejad, who once attempted to interrupt Musavi's words to answer his claims. In response, Musavi calmly turned towards him and –like a teacher admonishing a noisy student- politely asked him not to speak in the middle of his talks since he has had his time. The final ten minutes were truly a blessing for Musavi otherwise the debate could be a crushing defeat for him.
Despite his belligerent mood, Ahmadinejad was nervous and ready to erupt. He could be easily defeated, if against him stood a professional debater, not an artist-more-than-politician like Musavi. One could easily point to his mishandling of governmental affairs, rumors about financial corruption of his team and himself during his gubernatorial term in Ardebil and mayoralty in Tehran, and the whole string of his blatant lies that have become truly endless.
Feedbacks over the debate have been different over the cyberspace: Musavi's supporters thank him for remaining calm against Ahmadinejad's vitriolic attacks, and believe that his behavior made Ahmadinejad so nervous that he had to attack everything and everyone to rescue himself. Ahmadinejad's adherents believe that he revealed the true intentions of Musavi and those who mastermind his campaign against Ahmadinejad. Many have expressed regret over Ahmadinejad's unproved accusation of well-known figures, while others have praised Ahmadinejad for his straightforwardness in shedding a light on corrupt networks of power in the Islamic Republic. It seems that the supporters of either candidate think of him as the winner of the debate.
When 2 A.M. in the morning Tajrish Square in north of Tehran becomes the scene of gathering of Ahmadinejad and Musavi's supporters, both celebrating their candidate's victory, clear it becomes that the debate has been one with a deep impact, one that Iranians remember for a long time.
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