Translated material
Three hours of solidarity
Only communists are going to oppose Putin’s report in the Duma
Parliamentary factions are preparing for the first government report in the history of Russia for 2008, which Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will speak at an additional plenary meeting of the State Duma on Monday, April 6. He will also tell deputies about the government's anti-crisis program. Then parliamentarians will ask the head of government questions, and representatives of all four Duma factions (United Russia, Communist Party of the Russian Federation, A Just Russia and LDPR) will speak. After which Mr. Putin will make his closing remarks. The entire procedure is expected to take about three hours, and after a short break, deputies will begin discussing amendments to the 2009 budget. The Duma will adopt resolutions separately on the government report and on the anti-crisis plan.The government is obligated to report to the State Duma by a law recently adopted at the instigation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The first report of the Cabinet of Ministers coincided with the discussion of the anti-crisis program. Representatives of all Duma factions shared with the Vremya Novostey correspondent their expectations from this event.
“This is a fundamentally new procedure, in my opinion, increasing not only the role of parliament, but also the role of the government, since its activities become sanctified by public parliamentary support,” said First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma, first deputy leader of the United Russia faction Oleg Morozov. - This is also an opportunity for a different dialogue with citizens. Citizens understand what course is being pursued, what the government is doing and is going to do. “I look forward to an interesting report from Putin, an interesting discussion and, frankly, a united position between the government and parliament, which is extremely necessary in the current economic conditions.”
“We would like this new form not to turn into a protocol event, but to bring real results,” said Igor Lebedev, head of the LDPR faction in the State Duma. - In addition, we would like the rules of this event to be slightly changed next year. In particular, it would be a good idea for ministers responsible for certain areas to attend the next government report. The Prime Minister, who directly holds the report, could either give appropriate instructions on the spot or dismiss the failing minister.”
“I am looking forward to a conversation that would be constructive for understanding that today not only the implementation of anti-crisis measures, but also the execution of the discussed and subsequently adopted budget depends on the interaction of the executive and legislative powers. Therefore, I would like the conversation to be open and constructive,” said Alexander Babakov, vice speaker of the State Duma from the A Just Russia faction.
“If we speak openly and even emotionally, then, unfortunately, I don’t expect anything special from this meeting,” Ivan Melnikov, vice speaker from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, shared with Vremya Novostey. - It's not about meetings. The Prime Minister knows well the position of the Communist Party faction on many issues. He knows our attitude to the policy of conserving funds and the policy of ineffective distribution during the crisis. Has this knowledge changed anything? Nothing, this policy continues. Yes, there is mutual understanding on certain points. But they are so separate that such meetings are simply not required. But we do not agree on major issues of socio-economic strategy. Alexey Kudrin, Andrey Fursenko, Viktor Khristenko, and Anatoly Serdyukov continue to work in the Cabinet of Ministers. This means they are trusted. But the program of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is incompatible with confidence in these ministers. It’s “either-or”. Although, of course, some hope remains that at least some of our arguments will be perceived rationally. At least we are preparing for the meeting seriously. But given the fact that the recent plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation decided to hold an All-Russian protest action on April 4 under the slogan “Government resign!”, we will strongly oppose.”
The leadership of United Russia will meet with the Prime Minister, who is also their party leader, earlier - today. Vladimir Putin and party members will discuss the possibility of redistributing budget funds in the amount of about 300 billion rubles. As Oleg Morozov told reporters, the proposals do not affect the macroeconomic indicators of the 2009 budget. The deputy especially hopes that the government will take into account the proposals of United Russia on small business. In particular, the party proposes to exempt small businesses from paying rent payments and increase them to 100 million rubles. the maximum annual turnover that allows a company to belong to this category.