MOSCOW, May 8 (Itar-Tass) —— The State Duma will consider Dmitry Medvedev as a candidate for Russian premiership on Tuesday.
Under the Russian Constitution the lower house of parliament can approve a candidate, which the Russian president nominated for the post of prime minister. Russian President Vladimir Putin nominated Medvedev as a candidate for prime minister in the State Duma right after the presidential inauguration. Putin said at a festive inauguration ceremony that Medvedev succeeded “to ensure the continuity and sustainability” in the development of the country. “He has a difficult and responsible task in the future, I wish luck to him,” Putin said.
The consultations between the candidate for premiership and the State Duma factions precede the debates on this candidacy in the State Duma. On Monday, the consultations were held in the factions of United Russia and the LDPR. Medvedev will meet with deputies from the CPRF and A Just Russia on Tuesday. Then the lower house of parliament will meet for an extraordinary meeting to debate and vote for the candidate.
Medvedev is to begin at 10:00 Moscow time a meeting with the CPRF deputies. The leader of the Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov stated earlier that the Communists will not support “any candidate, which will pursue the previous state policy.” “The previous policy does not make it possible to realize the scope of ideas, particularly those that Medvedev voiced. Everything will depend from what policy a new government will offer. If a new Cabinet offers the previous policy, it is a policy leading to nowhere,” he believes.
For his part, First Vice-Speaker of the State Duma and First Deputy Chairman of the Communist Party Central Committee Ivan Melnikov recalled that the Communists “stated already long ago that they will vote against, because they do not support the current state policy.” Meanwhile, the Communist Party takes upcoming debates “as a good opportunity to discuss concrete socio-economic and political affairs.”
Medvedev is to have consultations at 12:30 Moscow time with the A Just Russia faction, and this event has some intrigue. The point is that contrary to other three factions, which laid down their position long ago, A Just Russia intends to take a decision on the candidacy for premiership on Tuesday. “We have more arguments not to support his candidacy. And the point is not that he will head the United Russia Party, but rather in his policy, primarily in the social sphere,” the A Just Russia leader Sergei Mironov said earlier. However, before the consultations Mironov confirmed to Itar-Tass that “everything depends from the consultations, we will discuss all issues.”
Meanwhile, since United Russia, which voiced its support to Medvedev from the very beginning, has a majority in the State Duma, its votes will be enough to approve the candidate. The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia stated about its intention to vote for Medvedev’s candidacy after the consultations on Monday.
An extraordinary plenary meeting is already scheduled at 15:00 Moscow time on Tuesday. President Vladimir Putin will introduce Medvedev as a candidate for premiership to the deputies.
Then according to the agenda posted in the electronic database of the State Duma Dmitry Medvedev will deliver a report devoted to the program of the guidelines of the government. After that Medvedev will answer the questions of the deputies. For instance, United Russia intends “to discuss the priorities in the work of the government, a stronger parliamentary control and support for our enterprises during Russia’s accession in the World Trade Organization,” chairman of the State Duma subcommittee for information policy, information technologies and communications Sergei Zheleznyak told reporters.
Representatives of the State Duma factions will deliver speeches before the final voting.