Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wants to unite the Kremlin's elite cadres with the ruling party.
The 2011 and 2012 pre-election campaigns were launched in Novosibirsk on Friday. Addressing a conference or, rather, a mini-congress of the ruling United Russia party devoted to Siberia's development in 2010-2012, Vladimir Putin decided to change the format on the go.
Putin opted against a backstage meeting with the party's core group over tea. Instead, he allowed the audience to ask him questions, as he used to do at big press conferences as president. Replying to one of the questions, he answered unexpectedly that the unification of the presidential and prime minister's staff lists is a closed subject.
Putin's address at the conference was preceded by a regional project exhibition. Each region presented ten strategic development programmes – nearly one for every occasion.
Boris Gryzlov, the head of the party's Supreme Council, was tasked with assessing the projects and organising party control over their implementation.
Yuri Shuvalov, deputy secretary of the presidium of the party's General Council, told Nezavisimaya gazeta that priority would be placed on infrastructure projects, such as building a transport system and housing construction.
Vyacheslav Volodin, secretary of the presidium of the General Council, made it clear to the NG correspondent that the programmes offered by regions where parliamentary elections will be held in October 2010 and March 2011, i.e. the Novosibirsk Region, Tyva Republic and the Tomsk Region, would have the best chances, as the government would approve their development programmes six months before the elections.
"This is a new technology", he said.
The beginning of the prime minister's speech, to a great degree, resembled a pre-election oration.
"We will discuss Siberia today and what can be done for the people living here", Putin said with concern. "Experience shows that only United Russia can do this, as we are the only ones who have the necessary organisational and intellectual resources". Showing his attitude towards the paternalised party, the prime minister added that the party was ready to assume responsibility for implementing the set tasks.
After Putin's speech, it was time for the Siberians to have their say. The prime minister, who had been standing at the lecturn, was now seated in a white round armchair placed on a low semi-circular podium. Six similar armchairs were placed in a semi-circle around him for speakers from six regions – Buryatia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Kuzbass, the Altai Republic, the Irkutsk Region and the Tyva Republic.
After all six reports were heard, in keeping with the schedule, Putin was expected to speak with the party activists in private over tea, but he suddenly decided to change the conference format. He opted against the tea, instead telling the audience to ask him any questions. This turned the party forum into something akin to the sprawling annual press conferences Putin held for journalists as president. It was clear that he missed the old days and enjoyed having such close contact with the audience. Volodin assured the audience that the questions had not been prepared in advance. The conference format was tested for the first time and will be used again soon in the Far East.
The party members asked Putin about flaxseed oil, the development of small aviation, cultural issues, the revival of construction teams, his thoughts about the "School" TV series, and many other issues. The prices of pharmaceuticals were also discussed. The prime minister also named the regions where the number of registered violations in this sphere was the greatest: the Moscow Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region, the Chelyabinsk Region and the Stavropol Territory. He also invited the heads of these regions to a government presidium meeting in Moscow on Monday.
A young girl asked why the party reserve was not really used.
"You are right, we have not yet adjusted the personnel rotation system", he answered, recalling Soviet times with warmth. "Perhaps, there were some excesses – the number of women, collective farmers and workers (in the party leadership) was fixed once and for all, but there was a sort of system in this that we do not have today. We must build it anew. Our party leadership is here listening to us. We have discussed this issue with Dmitry Medvedev many times. You know, there is a presidential reserve as well. We will unite them all".
Evgeny Minchenko, director of the International Institute for Political Expertise, thinks there is nothing strange about Putin's plan to unite the presidential and party personnel reserves. The expert believes that Putin continues to exert serious influence on personnel policy.
"The influence of the prime minister and his associates, like Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin, on the appointment of governors has increased", Minchenko said. He agreed that there is no distinct system of working with personnel in the country. "We cannot say the presidential reserve is used properly".
Alexei Makarkin, deputy director general of the Centre for Political Technologies, is of a different opinion. He pointed out that the presidential "Golden 100" is taking part in the personnel rotation process. However, United Russia wants to know how its reserve will be used.
"The ruling party regards itself as a political force that must influence personnel policy", he said. "With united reserves, the party will lay claim to a greater role in personnel rotation. This is a signal to party members that their preferences will be taken into account. However, the integration of the presidential and party reserves is a complicated issue".
Dmitry Badovsky, deputy director of the Research Institute of Social Systems, recalled that the first presidential "100" was actually picked by hand – President Medvedev personally selected the candidates. However, when an additional 500 people were added to the party quota, to a considerable extent this led to the unification of the reserves. At present, the formation of the presidential "1,000" is under way.
"Probably, then, the presidential and party reserves will be united into a single state personnel reserve", Badovsky said. He thinks that, "it is better to have one list than several in order to avoid competition and clearly see how people from different lists team up from the personnel point of view".
At the same time, Putin is dissatisfied with United Russia and its current image, Minchenko said.
"He understands that it will be difficult for the party in its present form to win the 2011-2012 elections", he stressed.
The expert is sure that the prime minister will transform the party leadership and carry out its rotation. He asserted that "this process will also affect the government mechanism".
Elaborating on his idea, Makarkin said the unexpected change in the conference format, with Putin allowing the audience to ask him all sorts of unprepared questions, shows that the prime minister is trying to draw the party into active politics.
"Competition is growing at the party level, and United Russia's opponents are beginning to come to the fore", Makarkin said. "The party must learn the art of debating with the opposition on a new level. Putin is trying to bolster the party and make it a political structure rather than a bureaucrats' club, including through a free debate. When all the issues are agreed upon, party members may lose their taste for political action".
Elina Bilevskaya