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| 05 сентября, 2013

Political Agenda in Russia Requires Adjustment

Konstantin Kostin, head of the Foundation for Civil Society Development (FCSD) has told the site Polit.ru that in the near future the political agenda in Russia will change – largely due to an increase in political competition and the emergence of charismatic opposition figures in the coming elections.

According to Kostin, by next year there will be many more strong opposition figures fighting in next years elections. ‘Of course they will not all be representing the former white ribbon movement. I am sure for example that the Communists are capable of conducting a strong electoral campaign and other parties too, so I believe that next year the campaign will take place in a tough competitive atmosphere. And there will not only be competition for second place but for first place too. We will see this happening more and more next year because I think that the opposition have recognised their mistakes and are working on correcting them. They have finally understood that you can’t wake up and smell the coffee just three months before the elections. You have to be out there in the voters sights all the time in the area where you intent to fight for a place in government.’

He added that there is process of openness going on in the political system in Russia today, and of increased competitiveness.

Kostin mentioned the process of creating shared values which is now gaining momentum in the country and is, according to him, a perfectly natural one. ‘One cannot name a single democratic country which does not have shared values between the political elite and society – and this includes a need for competition among the political elite. These values are clear: a love for one’s country and pride in its history and culture. When all is said and done this is simply a desire for one’s country to be great. All the important forces in society rally round this desire. It is the foundation on which to build a political system with competing parties and candidates with very different positions and ideological attitudes.’

The head of the FCSD believes that the ‘People’s Front’, which is now about to be launched onto the political scene will have a marked influence on the political agenda. However ‘United Russia’ he says, will remain the leading party and will retain that popularity. ‘New Parties are emerging on the political scene and are seriously trying to knock ‘United Russia’ off its perch but we are very unlikely to see any great upset in the elections. ‘United Russia’ has a comfortable margin of security and real potential’ said the expert.

Kostin believes that the situation in Russia will influence events happening in other countries including regional and local conflicts and the development of mutual relations between countries in the former Soviet Union and relations with major world powers. ‘In terms of domestic policy everything is fairly predictable. The only thing that could really affect the domestic political agenda is the economic situation in the country. At the moment it is difficult to say how we will see through this crisis of global economic stagnation.’

He also expects the rise of one important political trend: more coalition ruling authorities at a regional level.

As REGNUM reported earlier, in July 2013, adjustments to the political system were discussed during a meeting with experts and the first deputy head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Volodin. At that time Volodin suggested that Russia should definitely move towards a policy of open competition and recommended taking part in readings of socially significant bills on discussion platforms.