Translated material
Competition in the domestic market
Some United Russia members want to change the head of the election headquarters for the Duma elections
As Vremya Novostei learned from a source in the United Russia faction in the State Duma, the secretary of the party’s general council and vice-speaker of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, may soon lose his post as head of the party’s election headquarters. True, the candidate tipped to replace Mr. Volodin denied to Vremya Novostei the possibility of such a replacement.The source called the main reason for dissatisfaction with Mr. Volodin among part of the leadership of United Russia his conflict, recalling how the vice speaker in his native Saratov region, where he is actually the curator of the regional party organization, fell out with many prominent functionaries, including with Governor Pavel Ipatov. The head of the region was very upset that the Saratov United Russia members did not give him a key place in the electoral lists of United Russia in the Duma elections. Instead, Mr. Ipatov was offered to lead the party list in the elections to the regional parliament.
According to Vremya Novostey, the governor recently traveled to Moscow to seek support from the presidential administration. And yesterday Oleg Grishchenko, a member of the political council of the Saratov regional branch of United Russia, who until recently served as the head of the faction in the Saratov City Duma, addressed an open letter to the party leader, State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov. Mr. Grishchenko drew the speaker’s attention to the story with Governor Ipatov, and also complained about the split in the regional office. “The formal regional leaders of the party have an intention to appoint to the regional Duma persons who have proven their complete personal loyalty to Volodin. This political position has led to the emergence of an unnecessary and unjustified conflict between the Saratov regional party organization “United Russia” and the entire system of executive power in the Saratov region,” writes Oleg Grishchenko.
The conflict with State Duma Vice Speaker Lyubov Sliska also damaged Mr. Volodin’s reputation. After Ms. Sliska’s failure to appear at the December congress of United Russia in Yekaterinburg , and sources in the party claimed that the reason for this was a quarrel with the secretary of the General Council, the possibility of her moving to A Just Russia was actively discussed in the expert community.
A Vremya Novostey source in the United Russia faction claims that instead of Vyacheslav Volodin, the post of head of the party’s election headquarters could be taken by the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor and Social Policy, Andrei Isaev. According to the source, Mr. Isaev is ambitious and is trusted by the party leadership, which believes that he has proven himself well during the monetization of benefits.
Recently, Mr. Isaev has become one of the key speakers of the party, commenting on all social issues and consistently criticizing A Just Russia. Andrei Isaev also has serious support in the Kremlin and enjoys authority in the largest trade union organization - the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, of which he has been a member of the leadership since 1995.
Supporters of Mr. Isaev's appearance at the head of the election headquarters also motivate their choice by the popularity of social issues among the population. However, Deputy General Director of the Center for Political Technologies Alexei Makarkin believes that one person in the election campaign will not make a difference. “The voter is focused on the United Russia brand, and questions about who is responsible for what are of little interest to him. In the State Duma, Isaev deals with issues of social policy. However, with Volodin and Isaev, “United Russia will find it difficult to compete with other parties - for example, with the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and A Just Russia - at the auction of promises,” Mr. Makarkin told a Vremya Novostei correspondent.
The press service of Vyacheslav Volodin told Vremya Novostey that nothing was known about such a castling. In addition, the team of the Secretary of the General Council, working with him in the State Duma, also shows no signs of defeatism, but on the contrary, is going to move for the summer to the United Russia party office on Banny Lane to work on the election campaign.
“Such rumors often circulate before elections, because the one who runs the election campaign increases his status and gets access to serious money,” Dmitry Oreshkin, head of the Mercator group, told a Vremya Novostey correspondent. - It is quite possible that such rumors could be an internal party PR struggle. In any case, this is a reflection of the fact that within United Russia there is quite serious and fierce competition for political resources.”
In turn, Andrei Isaev, in a conversation with a Vremya Novostey correspondent, denied his possible appointment to the post of chief of staff. “We all support Volodin, and I will assist him as an assistant in propaganda and agitation,” said Mr. Isaev.