ABSTRACT
The agenda of the reformers included reviving a vibrant press, encouraging the formation of conventional political parties, streamlining government ministries and enacting budget. But above all else, they had to work out a modus operandi with their conservative adversaries and foster a genuinely democratic culture, which had been missing so far. “The factions have to learn how to cooperate with each other – and they will learn,” said Abbas Salimi Namin, the managing director of the Tehran Times.
