First Shot? II

The problem with being the Absolute Leader is that your leadership is rarely ever absolute. There are always different factions to be pleased, bribed, cajoled, threatened, played against each other, or taken out and shot.

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is learning this ancient lesson the hard way:

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has intervened for a second time in Iran’s election crisis.
A government spokesman says the ayatollah, who has the final word on all state matters in Iran, has called for a second review of about 2,000 candidates who were banned from running in this month’s parliamentary election by the conservative Guardian Council.

The ayatollah also said that the election should go ahead as scheduled, on February 20.

In remarks broadcast on Iran’s state television, Ayatollah Khamenei played down the severity of the election crisis, and said he believes the current election dispute can be resolved.

It’s a sign of Iran’s increasing political maturity that Khamenei is trying to play the factions, rather than just shooting the ones he disagrees with. It’s a sign of possible revolution that he’ll probably find them all impossible to juggle.