| Other Photos |
 |
|
 |
Sergey Mironov Wants to Embrace Whole Left
Just Russia Party leader Sergey Mironov announced yesterday “a powerful socialist party” must be founded that will include “all leftist forces” including the Russian Communist Party. He said that such an association would be sure to beat the United Russia in the December elections to the State Duma. He was speaking at the founding session of the Union of Supporters of Just Russia (Russian abbreviation SSSR).
Mironov said that Just Russia should unite with the Communist Party, since they have “much more in common than they have differences.” Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov stated categorically in reference to Mironov's suggestion that “nothing will come of that this time.” The Socialist United Party of Russia recently chose to merger with Just Russia.
The Communist Party's poor showing in the 2003 elections, when it received 12.6 percent of the vote, as compared to 24.3 percent in 1999, almost led to its collapse. Head of the executive committee of the People's Patriotic Union of Russia Gennady Semigin organized an alternative party congress at which Ivanovo Region Governor Vladimir Tikhonov was elected leader. Zyuganov convinced the Justice Ministry of his legitimacy only with difficulty. First Deputy Chairman of the Communist Party Central Committee Ivan Melnikov told Kommersant that such a situation cannot arise again. “The most it [Just Russia] can do is bang its forehead against our armor,” he said.
The Communist Party's survival was due in large measure to the support of the Kremlin, which may no longer find its presence as desirable. With two parties of power to split elections, a third force is not needed by it, leaving it in danger of suffering the same fate as Fatherland and the Pensioners' Party.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 31, 2007
|
|
|
