Russian President Dmitry Medvedev took a thinly veiled swipe at his predecessor Vladimir Putin’s political party on Tuesday, saying it should be mandatory for parties seeking seats in parliament to participate in debates.
Putin’s United Russia party refused to take part in televised debates before elections in 2007 that increased its control over the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.
Medvedev, Putin’s chosen successor, has vowed to continue the course set by his mentor, who became prime minister the day after Medvedev took office just over a year ago. Both have said they are running the country in tandem.
But Medvedev’s remarks in a meeting with Communist Party leaders appeared part of an effort to show he is fostering greater political diversity after eight years of increasing Kremlin control during Putin’s presidency. Medvedev also signed a bill on Tuesday that would make it easier for parties to win seats in future elections.
“We should not have unipolarity in international relations or inside the country either. A society that has no poles has no source of development,” he said, adding that the Soviet Union’s single-party system contributed to its demise.
“This is why I consider the obligatory participation of all parties in debates to be of fundamental importance,” Medvedev said in comments shown on state-run television. “If a party does not take part in debates, then it’s not very clear what it stands for.”
Medvedev runs little risk of repercussions: United Russia, which detractors compare to the Soviet-era Communist Party, is fair game for critics under Russia’s unspoken rules of political conduct. The party has even faced criticism from Putin, who backed it in the parliamentary elections and became its leader last year but has never actually joined.
Medvedev has also criticized Putin’s Cabinet — a popular lightning rod for disgruntled politicians and people on the street — but has been careful not to criticize Putin himself.
The remarks could open Medvedev to allegations of hypocrisy, since he refused to debate while running for president. Vocal Kremlin critics were kept off the ballot through technicalities, and the election results were widely seen as preordained.
Medvedev’s election in March last year and parliamentary vote in December 2007 marked the culmination of years of tightening Kremlin control over politics under Putin. As president, he abolished gubernatorial elections and used a pliant parliament to enact electoral laws he said were needed to strengthen Russia after a series of deadly terrorist attacks. Critics said they were designed to consolidate power in his hands.
Before the 2007 election, races between individual candidates were abolished and new legislation required parties to win at least 7 percent of the votes cast to gain seats in the State Duma.
Under the law signed on Tuesday by Medvedev, a party that wins between 6 percent and 7 percent will get two of the Duma’s 450 seats, while a party winning between 5 percent and 6 percent will get one seat.
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