The Shah Besieged
Dr. Moussadek is a notoriously unreasonable man. But in accusing the Shah of Persia of unconstitutional activities he has excelled himself. If the Shah has a failing, it is that he was born with those qualities which make good constitutional monarchs and poor demagogues, in a country where constitutional monarchy is totally foreign and demagogy is de rigueur. There are, of course, reasons of a kind behind Dr. Moussadek's outburst. This is an old score, between him and the royal family. He was unlikely to forgive that family for ascending the throne in the first place, let alone for requir- ing at one stage his own exile from the capitaL Nor could he be expected to resist using the monarchy, a rare asset in the Middle East and getting rarer, as a distracting side-show when- ever the gaping crowd got bored with the fireworks in Abadan. But side-shows are one thing: abdications are another. From all points of view, the Prime Minister would like to see the end of the monarchy. The mob riots which followed his first attempt were temporarily discouraging. But the absence of a quorum to vote the curbs on the powers of the Shah suggests that the Majlis itself may be getting out of hand. Dr. Moussadek is no democrat, and he may be desperate. If he is seriously scared by the political scene,,he will be deafer than usual to Persia's unfranchised millions. Hence the accusation that the Shah's family were leading the multitudinous plots against the regime. Hence, perhaps, the even more sinister report that the Shah's faithful minister at Court, Hussein Ala, is to be replaced by Moussadek's own finance minister, Bagher Kazeim. The Prime Minister cannot afford any effectiv e opposition; and the Shah's departure may be one of the prices he is determined to pay for total victory.
Previous page
