Ousted Iranian economic minister takes potshots at Ahmadinejad

ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images

Political appointees who are forced to resign tend to go quietly, thanking their boss for an opportunity to serve the nation and vowing to spend more time with their families.

Not so Danesh Jaafari (left), the ousted Iranian economy and finance minister. In stepping down from his post on Tuesday, he slammed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration in terms that, per the AFP, had “until now been almost unknown in Iranian politics.”

During my time, there was no positive attitude towards previous experiences or experienced people and there was no plan for the future,” he said in the speech quoted by the Fars news agency.

“Peripheral issues which were not of dire importance to the nation were given priority.

“For example, changing the nation’s time took months of our time,” he complained.

What is it with authoritarian regimes and clocks? Anyway, this is the best part:

For example the deputy in charge of the economy… is a veterinarian and he does not know much about economy,” he added.

Iran’s inflation is running at nearly 18 percent and unemployment could be as high as 30 percent, according to the Associated Press. Ahmadinejad has pushed infrastructure spending and handouts to the poor that have only added inflationary fuel to the fire, policies that Jaafari says he opposed while in office. It should be interesting to watch what happens next, with Ahmadinejad up for reelection in 2009.