Ahmadinejad Caves

You have to give it to him, Ahmadinejad held out pretty long. Yet he has caved into the hardliners and dismissed his first VP Esfandiar Rahim Mashai.

It is clear now that Ahmadinejad is a puppet of the hardliners behind the scenes. Even though the Supreme Leader is higher in the system, the president is supposed to have some theoretical powers such as being able to pick his own cabinet. Yet, Ahmadinejad could not even pick his right hand man and his presidency is little more than facade for a hardliner dictatorship. The importance of this episode is that it shows that Ahmadinejad is not the driving force for what is going on in the regime.