Will the New President’s Key Unlock Any of Iran’s Problems? · Global Voices
Farid

A key was the symbol for Rouhani's campaign. Photo via Mashreghnews
The campaign symbol of president-elect Hassan Rouhani was a key. Now, Iranian netizens are discussing whether Rouhani will actually be able to open any locks. Rouhani promised a government of “hope and prudence”, and thousands of Iranians celebrated his victory hoping for a better future.
In Omid Dana's blog we read:
Which lock will Rouhani's key open? Mostafa Tajzadeh [a jailed reformist] says releasing political prisoners is not in the hands of Rouhani. Doesn't Khatami say that we should lower our expectations? People often say, with good reason, that the key to nuclear negotiations, relations with the US, and the Syria crisis are in the hands of the Supreme Leader… With all this said, Rouhani's only keys are those to his house or his office.
Jaleboon writes:
Some, like Omid Dana, ask which locks Rouhani can open. The answer is that he already opened the lock of the election that had become illegitimate with the 2009 crisis.
Several netizens metion problems and locks that Rouhani's key might open.
Mahsa tweeted:
I don't want freedom to wear the veil or not, I want the day to come when inflation and unemployment rates are lowered and marginalized people do not need to sell drugs.
Negar Mortazavi tweeted:
“Sources close to #Rouhani say he is planning to send special envoys to some countries to repair broken ties & start a new chapter with Tehran.
In the meantime several campaigns also asked Rouhani to fix the Iranian internet and end filtering. A Facebook campaign asked Rouhani to end the filtering of Facebook, and a group of bloggers and cyber activists wrote a letter to the President-elect asking him to increase Internet speeds. They also complain about filtering and remind Rouhani that he himself used the Internet to promote his campaign.