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gazeta.ru
March 3, 2004
PM-designate teases Duma with big red carrots
By Yelena Rudneva

Prime-Minister-designate Mikhail Fradkov has met with State Duma deputies and secured the transfer of liberal economist Alexander Zhukov, currently a vice-speaker of the Lower House, to the post of his deputy. Nonetheless, not all Duma factions welcomed Fradkov.

On the eve of Fradkov’s arrival in the State Duma on Tuesday, the United Russia party, which holds the centrist majority in the parliament, demonstrated deep respect to the minority factions and the parliamentary traditions as a whole, saying that the PM-designate would visit all Duma factions without exception and will meet even members of the Motherland (Rodina) faction, the Communists and Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s LDPR.

State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov, who is also the United Russia party leader, solemnly communicated that to his colleagues at the session of the Duma Council on Tuesday morning.

Needless to say, the first faction Putin’s PM nominee visited on Tuesday afternoon was the pro-Kremlin United Russia. The session was held behind the closed doors and the conversation, judging by the look on the faces of deputies emerging from the conference hall some 30 minutes later, proved quite interesting.

“I did not know him well before, but now I see, the acquaintance proved pleasant, he is a positive person,” Konstantin Zatulin told Gazeta.Ru sharing his impressions of the future PM. “He is a professional,” Gennady Gudkov told the press.

The future PM and the State Duma speaker were the last to leave the hall.

As expected, Gryzlov pledged his faction’s full support of Fradkov’s candidacy. Given the constitutional majority Gryzlov’s party controls in the lower house one may say the approval of Putin’s choice of the new premier has already taken place.

“After listening to Mikhail Yefimovich's [Fradkov] answers and hearing his statements about his life experiences and his life journey, the United Russia faction has taken a unanimous decision to support Mikhail Yefimovich as chairman of the Russian Federation government in the vote on 5 March. We have made the most important conclusion for ourselves, namely that Mikhail Yefimovich Fradkov is not only a reformer but also a creator. I think that it is the most important conclusion which was made by the faction. As for the necessary tactical steps, i.e. the implementation of the administrative reform, the fight against corruption, the solution of economic issues on doubling GDP, the fight against poverty, the modernization of the armed forces, all these questions have been answered, and we are confident that as head of government Mikhail Yefimovich Fradkov will indeed be able to solve these strategic tasks,” Gryzlov said.

The presence at the Tuesday session was obligatory for all United Russia faction members. Before being admitted to the conference hall all deputies were subjected to ID checks by Duma staff employees. With the identity of a United Russia established each was presented a copy of the session’s agenda, containing but one item that read: “On the candidacy of M.Ye.Fradkov.”

Interestingly, along with the agenda United Russia deputies received a booklet containing detailed guidelines as to how and where they should submit their income tax returns.

When asked by Gazeta.Ru whether the procedure is intended to remind the deputies there was no use in attempting to conceal their incomes from the former tax police chief, head of the Duma staff Alexander Lotorev answered jokingly: “It is just that by 1 April, as last year, the deputies are to hand in their tax returns. It’s a mere coincidence. There is no hidden meaning in that.”

During the session Fradkov told the deputies a few words about himself and said whom he would like to see in the new government. Most importantly, United Russia’s Lyubov Sliska told the press afterwards, PM-designate had said he would pick Alexander Zhukov, a highly respected liberal economist and a Duma deputy of many years, as his first deputy prime minister. United Russia endorsed his choice.

Sliska went on to say that Sergei Shoigu and Alexei Gordeyev, [Emergencies Minister and Agriculture Minister in the Kasyanov government], would most likely retain their posts.

However, Fradkov himself was more cautious in his forecasts. Before announcing his choice of a candidate for the first vice prime minister, PM-designate asked Gryzlov’s permission: “Boris Vyacheslavovich, may I disclose a secret?” Gryzlov nodded affirmatively.

“I would like to see the respected Alexander Dmitriyevich Zhukov on the post of the vice-premier,” Fradkov said but refused to comment on other possible party candidates to the government.

The communists boycotted Fradkov on Tuesday, refusing not only to discuss anything with the future premier but even to listen to his biography. Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov told the press that on 5 March, when the house is to consider the PM nomination his faction will unanimously vote against Fradkov’s candidacy, proposing their candidate, Nikolai Kharitonov, instead.

On his part, Fradkov took the boycott calmly. “The Communists refused to discuss my candidacy, they have a candidate of their own,” he said, noting that he understands the faction’s position.

Zhirinovsky and his fellow-party members, on the contrary, gave Fradkov an unexpectedly warm welcome. Despite his earlier statements, where Zhirinovsky blasted Putin’s choice of the future Prime Minister, this time the LDPR leader spent about an hour insistently persuading Fradkov to invite “at least two or three of our members” to the government.

Fradkov, on his part, diplomatically noted that he was not yet in position to promise anything since the future structure of the new cabinet was still unclear. As a result they parted warmly, with PM-designate ticking off LDPR on his agenda of the Duma visit and Zhirinovsky promising to make the final decision on his faction’s support of the future premier by Tuesday evening.

Fradkov’s acquaintance with the Motherland faction proved to be most interesting. The problem with Motherland, or Rodina, torn by the internal struggle between its co-founders Dmitry Rogozin and Sergei Glazyev, was that until midday it remained unclear whom of those two Fradkov would choose to make an acquaintance. As is known, each of them has a Motherland of his own.

Fradkov went to see Rogozin, for namely Rogozin, being the Duma vice speaker, represents Motherland in the Duma Council and controls the majority in the bloc. Sergei Glazyev, too, attended the meeting, held behind the closed doors. As a result, both leaders agreed that the Motherland faction would support Fradkov’s nomination.

At the same time, Rogozin told the journalists, he will not accept Fradkov’s invitation to work in the government, should such offer be made.

“Experience shows that to become a politician one must work in a team and not run over to the government in small groups even if shown a big red carrot,” Rogozin told the press, apparently alluding to a certain period in his own career. [In the previous Duma Rogozin, the then-head of the international affairs committee was appointed the president’s envoy for settling the Kaliningrad crisis.] What was the size of the carrot Fradkov had shown him, Rogozin would not elaborate.