Ahmadinejad’s political image shivers in Iran

The president countered attacks, saying in December that his predecessors were to blame for the inflation.

A government spokesman, Gholam Hossein Elham, defended Ahmadinejad's administration Monday. "The (gas) law had an inflationary effect; it was naturally right of the president to warn about it," he said.

The crisis comes less than three months ahead of crucial parliamentary elections slated for March 14.

Hard-line conservatives gained control of the parliament in 2004 after the country's constitutional watchdog barred thousands of reformists from running in elections.

But in local municipal elections a year ago, the president's allies suffered a humiliating defeat after a majority of the seats were won by reformists and conservatives opposing Ahmadinejad.

The gas shortage has created wide ripples. The government closed offices, schools and universities for days because of possible shortages.

"What does it mean to send a country on a holiday after a snowfall?" Kamal Daneshyar, a longtime parliamentary supporter of Ahmadinejad asked in the weekly Shahrvand journal. He called criticism of the government's crisis management valid.

Cold-related deaths
An energy expert, Ali Shams Ardakani, told the weekly that "planning has departed from the Iranian economy. If heating gas is cut on the coldest day of the year, it means lack of management."

Local media have reported 64 cold-related deaths and said gas cuts were to blame for some, although others died after being trapped on icy mountain roads. As much as 22 inches of snow fell in areas of northern and central Iran in early January, the most in more than a decade.

"Clients in my constituency have faced gas cuts and closed bakeries for 10 days," said one legislator, Mehrangiz Morrvvati, who represents a mountainous northeastern town.

Dissatisfaction is inevitable, said analyst Hamid Reza Shokouhi with the independent Mardomsalari daily. Gas cuts have "increased a pessimistic view of Ahmadinejad's administration" among a public already faced with price increases for gasoline and consumer goods in recent months.

Because the government has now allocated more natural gas capacity to households for heating, it will no longer provide natural gas to taxis, state radio said Monday. Many taxis and other cars in Iran can operate on either gasoline or natural gas.

"I pay double now for the same distance. Taxi drivers are asking for more money" because of the gas shortage, complained secretary Manijeh Rahimi. Her nose turned red from the cold as she waited for a taxi on a downtown street corner.

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