Translated material
Surprise for the Chairman
Representatives of “All Russia” want to remove Gennady Seleznev
The creation of a large party from Unity, All Russia and Fatherland (EURO) could backfire on State Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznev. The leadership of the All Russia movement yesterday reflected on the near future of the “tripartite party” and even came up with its first party task: to re-elect the speaker of the Duma.The draft assignment came from Kazan from a member of the executive committee of “All Russia” Rafail Khakimov, an adviser to the President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev. After the merger of the three movements, a single party, according to Mr. Khakimov, will have the most powerful representation in the Duma - an “absolute majority.” Therefore, Mr. Khakimov does not understand why the speaker’s chair should be occupied by a representative of the minority - the communist Gennady Seleznev.
The overwhelming majority of Duma members, whom a Vremya Novostey correspondent approached yesterday, refused to comment on the proposal of the adviser to the President of Tatarstan. It, in their opinion, would deserve attention if it had been made by Mintimer Shaimiev himself or by the executive committee of “All Russia”. However, deputy Boris Nadezhdin (SPS) liked the idea of “replacing Seleznev,” but he immediately asked the question: “Who?” According to Mr. Nadezhdin, “Irina Khakamada would be a good speaker.” It was impossible to get comments from members of the Communist Party faction: the communists yesterday were engaged in street demonstrations dedicated to the anniversary of the October 1993 events.
It is precisely this activity of the communists that makes it possible to raise the issue of changing the speaker, First Deputy Chairman of the Duma Lyubov Sliska told a correspondent of the Vremya Novostei newspaper. This problem, according to her, “is being raised from scandal to scandal,” which arose at the instigation of the communists “because of the Land Code, the Labor Code,” and so on. “But there is a package agreement,” Ms. Sliska emphasizes, which “the leaders of nine parliamentary associations agreed to,” giving the speaker’s seat to the communists. Only these leaders, and “not party leaders,” have the right to “destroy the agreement,” the first vice speaker is convinced. In addition, Ms. Sliska is confident that the merger of movements into a party will not at all mean “unification of factions”: “We came to the Duma with these deputy associations and will end our powers as part of them. After the new elections, the question of the speaker can be resolved in any way.”
True, it is still unknown in what composition the centrists will go to the new elections. “Fatherland” sees only “Unity” next to it, and has already come up with the name of the future party. For the sake of the “United Fatherland”, “compatriots” will have to dissolve themselves at the congress on October 13. They do not intend to consolidate with anyone other than Unity, including with All Russia, Alexander Vladislavlev, a member of the political council of Fatherland, told a correspondent of the Vremya Novostey newspaper yesterday.
Perhaps there are different points of view within Fatherland regarding the merger with All Russia. Activists of these movements worked shoulder to shoulder in the same electoral bloc in 1999, and perhaps they have far from the best memories of this cooperation. However, this does not at all put an end to the “union of three” project.
Thus, Mr. Khakimov told a correspondent of the Vremya Novostey newspaper that his movement no longer sees the point in existing separately, since “it is very difficult to find differences between the positions of the OVR and Unity.”
In fact, most of the “centrist disputes” are due to purely technical reasons - who sits higher and better. However, the longer the party members argue, the easier it will be for Gennady Seleznev to breathe.