| Anchor: We shall discuss
the main political news of the day with the leader of YABLOKO
Grigory Yavlinsky. Good evening, Grigory Alexeevich.
Yavlinsky: Good evening.
Anchor: In your opinion, what is the
goal of the new election initiative
of United Russia, who will be hit and who will profit?
Yavlinsky: I think that it has missed
the target for the time being. Different
political initiatives arise in the State Duma, and this is another
disservice to our President.
We have experienced elections in Vladivostok, Nizhni Novgorod
and
Krasnoyarsk. If the crux of the idea is to simply make the electoral
system stop functioning, create a single party system and close
the
question about democracy in Russia, the initiative hits this goal.
But
I think that this will not happen.
Anchor: But nevertheless if the situation
develops in this way and this
attempt does not fail and develops further, will it possible to
hold any
further negotiations on the percentage threshold? Say, ten or
seven per cent, etc.,
instead of 12%?
Yavlinsky: You may know a phase "negations
are out of place here".
This is not a question of negotiations. The voter will be distracted
from
elections even more than now. He will simply stop voting. And
this will be a national crisis, as there are no other means today
to
resolve the problem of power in accordance with our Constitution.
The people
from Unity hooked up with the RF Communist Party, or rather with
the
previous version of the latter, the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union which
really was a single party in the country. In this sense, and in
many other,
the Unity is an affiliate of the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union
in terms of structure and its artificial way foundation. There
will be two
factions of one party in the Duma. In this sense this will really
be "United Russia”.
Anchor: Does this mean that the communists
have forgotten how they were treated not
so long ago, when they were deprived of Duma portfolios [Ed. posts
of heads of Duma
committees]?
Yavlinsky: First they left other factions
without portfolios and then were treated in a similar manner This
kind of thing happens if you hook up with the person handing out
portfolios.
You are close to losing your portfolio . But I think this issue
will not be voted on, as
this disservice is simply senseless.
See also:
State Duma Elections 2003
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