The government of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran’s president, was on Tuesday accused in a letter sent by almost 60 economists of putting “short-term welfare above long-term sustainable development”.

Almost half way through his first four-year term, the open letter widely published in the media underlines the acute dilemmas faced by the president in delivering short-term welfare promises as he manoeuvres to bolster political support ahead of key elections in 2008 and 2009.