RBC Daily: «Popular Home Front»
Popular Front and Open Government to back Putin in presidential elections.
The resources of the Popular Front and the Open Government will be used to support Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his presidential campaign. Putin’s election agents will visit the most problematic regions. United Russia officials said that these will be new people and organisations that previously did not vote for the party but are ready to support Putin. The first debates will start on Dec. 7.
Just several months ago, many experts seriously considered the Front to be a venue for Putin’s self-nomination. To support this view, they referred to his experience of nominating himself as a presidential candidate in previous campaigns.
However, Putin decided to act as a United Russia candidate in the forthcoming elections. Politicians immediately began claiming that Putin is not confident in the Front in terms of political support and expressed doubts in the Front’s future after the Duma elections. However, it turned out that United Russia wants the Front to have a new lease on life in the presidential elections. Putin will be supported by the Front and the Open Government during the elections next March.
“The Popular Front will play the most active role in the presidential elections,” Andrei Isayev, the deputy secretary of the Presidium of the United Russia General Council, said. “It already has a programme, but I suggest waiting for the outcome of the Duma elections.” He added that both the Front and the Open Government will be popular and useful after the Duma elections. The Front will deal with socio-political expertise, while the Open Government will make economic initiatives.
Meanwhile, Ruslan Gattarov from United Russia said that the election agents should meet with people to support Putin during the elections.
“It would be logical to do this through organisations that are part of the Popular Front,” he said. “Now they should show their readiness to promote Putin as a candidate and to vote for him. After all, we don’t ask the Magnitogorsk Combine (a Front member) to put a ‘For Putin’ stamp on their produce. They should simply hold meetings in shops and explain everything to people like the Russian Post did earlier.”
Vyacheslav Lysakov, a member of the Popular Front Coordinating Council, said that the Front will use tried-and-tested methods, such as sending a mission to problematic regions with a low rating, such as St Petersburg and the Kirov Region.
“Now, the party’s General Council is in charge of selecting Putin’s election agents,” he said.
Gattarov stressed that new people and organisations will explain Putin’s ideas in the regions. These may include children’s surgeon Leonid Roshal who supervises healthcare issues in the Front, film director and Open Government member Stanislav Govorukhin and public organisation representatives who did not promote the party, but will promote Putin.
“Vyacheslav Volodin, the head of the Front’s headquarters, is holding meetings each week. Putin attends them once a month,” Lysakov said.
The first meeting on the campaign strategy and preparations for the presidential elections is scheduled for Dec. 7.
The final lists of Putin’s election agents will most likely be compiled during the meeting. One United Russia member said that people are arriving both from the Open Government and the Front.
“Some show initiative themselves, and others are called and offered to take part,” he said.
So far, 35 people have been selected, but the list is bound to increase.
Olga Zhermelyova
