Part 1 These days Iranian media are full of stories related to the next cabinet of President Seyed Mohammad Khatami, who won the June 8 reelection for the presidency.

Political pundits are making forecasts and giving lists of the names of future ministers of Khatami's cabinet.

Naturally, common people are interested in such stories with strong desire that the next cabinet members will have enough capability to solve their day-to-day problems.

A sad story related to President Khatami and his supporters is that the people are now disappointed with slogans not followed by action. The fact is that common people want concrete measures, not empty words. It is also a fact the people have great regard for Khatami, as they wholeheartedly welcomed him when he reluctantly announced his decision to run for reelection on May 4.

Wiping away tears, Khatami said the decision had been a tough one, but he had bowed to pressure from friends and common people.

Despite all regards for him, Iran's youths who constitute the majority of the Iranian population are disappointed at the setbacks, Khatami's poor economic performance and slow pace of reform.

The future of Iran is in the hands of the youths who are more exposed to the outside world through the Internet and media. They are better educated compared to their ancestors, and this is the reason why they pose a greater challenge to the government.

Khatami himself admitted and told the nation that he passed through a 'tunnel of various crises and tensions.'

"As I passed through this tunnel, I had two major preoccupations -- to avoid turmoil and to be sure to make good on my promises to the people," Khatami said during his election campaign.

No one can claim that Khatami did nothing during his first term in office. The most important accomplishment of the Khatami government is a reduced reliance on oil revenues that has been recorded as 50 percent of state budget compared to 70 percent before he took office in 1997.

Another equally important factor is that during the last four years, the Iranian currency rial has been stabilized for the first time in 20 years. According to economic experts, Iran now has enough hard currency reserves, and also a part of foreign debt has been repaid.

But the bitter fact is that the economy is still 'sick', as Khatami himself maintained. The economic experts believe that one of the reasons is that state still controls 80 percent of economic activities.

According to official figures, 40 percent of Iranians live below the poverty line. Officially, unemployment rate stands at 15 percent, but many believe that it is much higher among the country's swelling young population.

The opponents of Khatami argue that unemployment, mismanagement and moral decline were never as widespread as during Khatami's presidency.

With this background, common people expect that Khatami's cabinet ministers announce their agenda so that the people may be informed of their future plans. If the people are satisfied with the incoming ministers' agenda, then the government will receive better cooperation from them.

(To Be Contd.)