0525 GMT: On Sunday, Parliament voted by a 179-17 margin, with 20 abstentions, to suspend the second phase of the Government's subsidy cuts, the centrepiece economic programme of President Ahmadinejad.
The effect of the vote is more symbolic than real. While Government officials had declared as early as December 2011 that the second phase of the cuts, which began a year earlier, were "imminent", implementation was repeatedly delayed amidst political squabbling and a worsening economic situation.
The first phase of the cuts, as well as the support payments to families to cover higher prices, will continue. However, the programme has been overtaken, politically and economically, by the day-to-day developments of the currency crisis, declining production, unemployment, and inflation beyond that caused by the reduced subsidies.
How far will Parliament take the challenge? On Sunday, reports said 93 of the 290 MPs --- well above the number required --- had signed a petition to interrogate Ahmadinejad over the currency crisis. Whle the President is already a "lame duck", entering the last eight months of his final term, his political foes may want to strip him of any figment of authority before next June, as well as ensuring that one of his allies cannot take the office.
Posted via email from lissping
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