But the hardliners struck back. When Khatami’s reform program was ineffective, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an obscure officer of the Basij militia, was elected Mayor of Tehran in 2003 (after just 12% of the city’s voters turned out), and then defeated Rafsanjani in 2005 to become President.
伊朗亦然。1989年霍梅尼死后，务实派拉夫桑贾尼（Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani）成为总统，然后是改革派哈塔米（Mohammad Khatami）。但强硬派发动了逆袭。哈塔米的改革计划没有收到成效，默默无名的巴斯杰（Basij）军官内贾德（Mahmoud Ahmadinejad）趁机在2003年当选德黑兰市长（只有12%的德黑兰市民参与了投票），接着在2005年击败拉夫桑贾尼成为伊朗总统。