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Wednesday, 01.06.2011
Prokhorov searches for new party name and profile
Moscow. Mikhail Prokhorov, the multi-billionaire and designated leader of the pro-Kremlin liberal party 'Right Cause' wants to get the party with new name and profile elected into the Duma - and take part in politics there.
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Mikhail Prokhorov, the third richest Russian(with assets of Euro 13 billion), owner of the Onexim Group and most recently initiator of the hybrid car project 'Yo-mobile', is currently still not involved in politics. But his entry is a done deal - and agreed upon by Putin's and Medvedev's political strategists. On the 25th June the party wants to elect its new chairman at the party conference.
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The bachelor Prokhorov is aiming high: He wants to get the, at present, to the masses virtually unknown party 'Right Cause' into the Duma at the next elections in December. This won't be easy as the threshold lies at 7 percent in Russia.
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Aim: From 0 to 7 percent in six months
The starting point is more than modest: Current surveys rate the Kremlin loyal and economically liberal party at a level under one percent - within the range of statistical errors. Even the radical opposition, Kremlin critics Boris Nemzov, Mikhail Kasyanov and Vladimir Ryzhkov (who do not own an approved party) as well as the militant liberal party Yabloko believe that the party has a larger number of followers.
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Therefore it won't hurt should Prokhorov's party with his entrance become unknown, like a chocolate bar at a marketing re-launch - a 'creative group' is currently working on the re branding. According to Prokhorov 15 favourites were selected out of the mass of name suggestions: "The most important point is that everyone likes the name, which is not easy." The task will be complete at the start of Congress.
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More colour and intellect in the political arena
Should he not be successful to get the party into the Duma, he would resign as party chairman, Prokhorov stated in a radio interview yesterday. However, if the move into parliament should be successful, he would want to work there and, he promises, as small as his group might be, to become the "intellectual superiority."
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This would be different from the tactics of other Kremlin affiliated parties like "United Russia" and "Just Russia" who up to now were keen on putting the names of famous people at the top of their lists of candidates, although it was known that they would not take up their parliamentary mandidate in favour of faceless substitutes.
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Beautiful image of the enemy: a capitalist and playboy in politics
Prokhorov would certainly introduce more colour and even glamour into the otherwise grey Russian political day of the Duma, that so far at best had been shaken up by the boisterous populist Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
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Politically one could only expect some rather neo-liberal firecrackers from Prokhorov, like the suggestion made in autumn to still introduce the possibility of a 60 hour week. Since then he is no longer liked by trade unionists.
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In any case, Prokhorovs wealth, his past as oligarch and capitalist, as well as the arrest at a sex orgy in the French ski resort of Courchevel make him and his party members vulnerable to attack in the upcoming election.
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The other parties, pretending to be closer to the people, are looking forward to ridicule the Playboy party - something that the constant under corruption and enrichment allegations suffering elite party "United Russia" will gladly do.
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Khodorkovski law suit bad news - and Nemzov a friend
Prokhorov in any case makes himself politically - and tries to create a political profile that differs from the Kremlin politics. As a citizen he regrets that a law suit like the Khodorkovsky process is possible in Russia. As a party leader he would give a more detailed statement.
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The brave, despite all prohibitions demonstrating and regularly arrested opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov is seen by Prokhorov as a "close friend Borja", whose political opinions he however does not share.
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Otherwise he admires Nemtsov and his group as "brave men", who however have problems. If there is a problem please tell me the solution instead of just criticizing it.
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Are 7 percent possible - without cheating?
Even if Prokhorov and its whatever it is called party should be able to get the backing of the liberal, western democratic minded electorate - which is estimated at around 15% of the electorate- by December, it will be difficult to get the backing of 7 percent in today's Russia. Especially as it has the reputation of just being another political project by the Kremlin strategists.
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Unless, of course, if the power force is supporting the Russian-FDP by bringing in their notorious administrative resources that previously only applied to the remaining two-third majority, of the ruling party," United Russia".
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Everything is possible with regards to election results in Russia, even 105 percent turnout. And this would be the only way for Prokhorov to achieve what he so impertinently stated to be his aim at the beginning of his political career: His party is to be the second strongest in the whole country.
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