Ahmadinejad's new pet phrase 'spring' infuriates Iranian establishment
When millions across the world used the phrase "Arab spring" to describe pro-democracy movements in the Middle East, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made it clear he disapproved. Instead, he referred to those events as the Islamic awakening, with the intention of keeping a political uprising from crossing the borders into the Islamic republic.
But to the ayatollah's dismay Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is increasingly using the word "spring" in what appears to be a campaign slogan for the man many believe he has chosen as his candidate in the forthcoming presidential race.
The president's speech at the UN general assembly in September 2012 was the first time he is known to have used what has now become his pet phrase, causing internal disputes and anger among his conservative rivals. "Long live this spring, long live this spring and long live this spring," he said at the UN podium in what was perceived to be one of his mildest public addresses during his seven years in office. The president has since repeated similar lines several times.
It has become common to hear Ahmadinejad publicly using the word. After a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, when a reporter asked if he had any news for people, he replied: "What is a better and prettier news than the fact that spring is coming. The time of sorrow is going away and, God willing, the next year will be a good and successful year for all Iranians."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/13/ahmadinejad-spring-infuriates-iranian-establishment
Perhaps the next Iranian election will be more than just an election. Perhaps it will be the beginning of the Iranian spring. The ayatollas seems worried.
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