Ahmadi-nejad did not even bother to apologize for the record late delivery of the budget.
In fact, his vice president for parliamentary affairs, Moham-mad-Reza Mir-Tajeddini, blamed the Majlis, saying they were shockingly late in reviewing the fifth five-year plan, thus delaying the president’s ability to put the annual budget together.
Mir-Tajeddini ignored the fact that Ahmadi-nejad was months late in submitting the five-year plan draft to the Majlis.
The budget draft is supposed to go to the Majlis by December 6 each year in order to give deputies 15 weeks in which to review and vote on the budget. Ahmadi-nejad has never sent the budget draft up on schedule, however.
The president continued to show disdain for the Majlis, saying his budget plan was so good there was no need for the Majlis to make any changes in it.
Ahmadi-nejad’s speech to the Majlis was long on rhetoric and generalities and very short on specifics.
He said the budget proposal for the government totaled 1.8 quadrillion rials (about $180 billion) with the budget for state-owned businesses adding another 3.6 quadrillion rials ($360 billion).
The president said a major goal of the budget was to narrow the income gap among social classes, a stated objective of the regime ever since the revolution. He also said the budget was devoted to strengthening unity and solidarity in society.
He said the budget preparation involved the application of “Iranian and Islamic planning.” He said he hoped that by the end of the current five-year plan in 2015, a complete Iranian and Islamic financial model would be in use.
Many in the Majlis think Ahmadi-nejad intentionally holds up the budget so the Majlis doesn’t have the time to look at the president’s requests in any detail.
Ahmadi-nejad has been from one to two months late in submitting the budget every year before this. The best he has done has been to deliver the budget 32 days late three years ago. Two years ago, he set his old record when he was 53 days late, the daily Jam-e Jam reported. This year, he was 76 days late.
There has been no shortage of deputies raising the issue on the floor of the Majlis since December and taking potshots at the president.
In mid-December, Deputy Mohammad-Reza Bahonar told the chamber he had met one of Ahmadi-nejad’s aides and been told the budget would be delivered by December 21. At other times since then, other pledged deadlines have been announced by other deputies on the floor.
