Recent anti-government protests targeting the reformists, among other factions, underscores the need for new reforms in the camp to regain a popular base, a lawmaker said.
Iran's political landscape is split between two main factions, namely conservatives and reformists, with the latter allied with the moderate government of President Hassan Rouhani. The support by reformists has been instrumental in Rouhani's victories over his main conservative challengers in the two last presidential polls.
They could also win many seats in the latest parliamentary elections in 2016, although short of having an outright majority. But reformists, who are barely represented in Rouhani's second-term Cabinet, have grown more critical of his performance in recent months, complaining the administration is not doing enough to fulfill Rouhani's electoral pledges.
The government's poor handling of the country's economic problems sparked demonstrations in dozens of Iranian cities late last year, where the protest slogans also targeted the reformist camp.
Backlash
"In recent demonstrations, the people bypassed both the reformists and principlists. We should avoid letting the reformist movement go into isolation. We need to make dynamic, efficient, and active arrangements to be able to respond to popular demands," Mohammad Reza Tabesh said. "The youth should be given a role in those arrangements, with the elder members serving in advisory positions," he was quoted by IRNA as saying in a recent talk with reporters.
The chants by furious demonstrators that reflected deep public disappointment with Rouhani only months after his reelection in a landslide victory came as a shock for his allied reformists. Rouhani's powerful conservative opponents have never ceased criticizing his economic record. They also oppose the moderate president's plans to follow through on his promise for broad economic and social reforms.
The weeklong protests grew violent soon and led to sporadic clashes between the marchers and riot police that state media said claimed 25 lives. Tabesh questioned the feasibility of the so-called "charter of political dialogue" across the national political spectrum recently proposed by some members of the reformist bloc in the parliament.
"I do not see a serious resolve for dialogue on national reconciliation," the reform-minded parliamentarian said.
