November 10-2013
There is talk in Tehran among Reformists of making Ali-Akbar Nateq-Nuri the lead man on the ticket for the 2016 Majlis elections. This shows how partisan lineups are shifting. Nateq-Nuri was the anointed establishment candidate to succeed President Rafsanjani in 1997. But to the surprise of almost everyone, Nateq-Nuri was swamped by Mohammad Khatami running on the Reformist platform that he created. In subsequent years, the conservatives shifted farther to the right and Nateq-Nuri found a home as a Reformist. Nateq-Nuri was speaker of the Majlis from 1992 until 2000 when the Reformists took over the Majlis.