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Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/02/us-iran-ahmadinejad-idUSTRE8210DZ20120302
Iran's Ahmadinejad, Reviled Abroad, Fades at Home
(Reuters) Alistair Lyon - Friday's parliamentary poll may make Iran's Ahmadinejad a lame duck for the rest of his presidency, a penalty for defying the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "Iran has become a one-party system: the party of Khamenei," said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst at the Carnegie Endowment. Friday's election is expected to erode Ahmadinejad's support in parliament. "Khamenei likes to divide and rule," Sadjadpour said. "For that reason he may see it in his interests to weaken Ahmadinejad's faction but keep it on life support." Many Iranians blame Ahmadinejad's policies for soaring prices. His government has also been tainted by a fraud alleged to have diverted $2.6 billion of state funds. Dozens have been arrested over the scandal, which was disclosed with Khamenei's approval. Sadjadpour said Ahmadinejad's record of insubordination and relentless self-aggrandizement had alarmed even his former allies in the conservative establishment. "Ahmadinejad has shown a unique ability to lose friends and alienate people," he said.