#11 - JRL 7167
Koch hopes Union of Right Forces will take third place
in Duma election
MOSCOW. May 5 (Interfax) - Businessman Alfred Koch, who will lead the election staff of the Union of Right Forces, hopes his party will rank third in the Duma election.
"Certainly, it's unreal to make the Union of Right Forces the leading party. But it is quite capable of being third," Koch said in an interview published in the Monday issue of Kommersant.
"That will take a good deal of money and good ideas," he said.
First of all, the money will be spent on the media, because Russian society "is strongly media-oriented," Koch said.
"Any ideas, including party initiatives, must be conveyed via the media. Otherwise, the voters will know nothing. That is what we need money for in the first turn," Koch said.
Interfax learned about Koch's future appointment as head of the Union of Right Forces' election staff from a source in the party administration on Wednesday.
Union of Right Forces leader Boris Nemtsov proposed Koch for the position. The nomination was coordinated with all the party co- chairmen.
Koch will be officially appointed after the May holidays.
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