Yedinaya Rossiya may establish special fund in Nizhny Novgorod
The Nizhny Novgorod branch of the ruling Yedinaya Rossiya (United Russia) party has been discussing the possibility of establishing a special fund that would provide material assistance to the visitors of Prime Minister Putin's Public Liaison Office. The party's leadership reacted negatively to the initiative.
The initiative to set up a special assistance fund for the applicants to the Prime Minister's Public Liaison Office was discussed at the party's regional coordinating council meeting, and opinions were split on the issue. Municipal Duma Deputy and Head of the Nizhegorodets Group Alexei Goikhman spoke in favor of the fund as a means of keeping the party's and the Liaison Office's prestige high.
He suggested that the fund's resources could be accrued from "deputies' funds" and charitable contributions by businesses. State Duma Deputy Roman Antonov said that he was already helping those in need of material assistance out of his personal money. The MP said that he would first verify whether the applicants truly required assistance. "I help fire victims, children in need of medical care, and others out of pocket, as I do not have any special funds available."
Liaison Office Head Alexander Serikov was among those against providing material assistance to the applicants. His position was shared by a businessman and a member of the Nizhny Novgorod party branch political council who preferred not to reveal his identity. "Putin's Liaison Office should not be turned into a center for money handouts. Because of the economic slowdown, many people have been experiencing financial difficulties. People will line up for the money, which may create an environment conducive to fraud." At the same time, he did not exclude the possibility that the party could decide in favor of the fund, "to sustain people's trust in Putin's Liaison Offices."
Opposition has warned the ruling party that they should not count on the funds available to deputies. The Duma Regulations Committee Deputy Chairman, Communist Vladislav Yegorov, explained that each municipal and regional parliament deputy is provided with territorial development funds (in 2008 regional deputies were provided with 2 million roubles per year and municipal deputies, with 300,000 roubles per year). However, the allocation of the funds must be agreed on together with the parliament speaker, the regional finance minister, and the Governor. "Therefore, the territorial development fund can hardly be considered as only the deputies' fund," Mr Yegorov said.
According to Vasily Loginov, Head of the Prime Minister's Public Liaison Office in Kazan and a deputy in the Tatarstan State Council, the assistance fund is not necessary. "In six months, we have received only two or three material assistance applications. In such cases, we request that social services, the municipalities, or the applicant's former or current work place provide him with material assistance," Mr Loginov said. Nevertheless, if it turns out in the future that the crisis necessitates the fund, he did not rule out the possibility of "introducing such an initiative".
"Absolutely not! No funds, no off-budget resources, and no financing of Liaison Offices or their activities are possible. This is just a bad rumor. We will find out where it is coming from," Mikhail Babich, Commission Head for Prime Minister Putin's Public Liaison Offices at the Yedinaya Rossiya General Council Presidium, told Kommersant.
By Vladimir Nagornykh and Yuliya Sukhonina