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Embattled lawmaker announces establishment of his political party

The Izvestia newspaper writes that Gudkov announced the launching of his own social-democratic project

MOSCOW, December 05. /ITAR-TASS/. The recent congress of A Just Russia Party has not clarified the political future of former lawmaker Gennady Gudkov. Many hoped that he would be able to return to party work, but it did not happen. The Izvestia newspaper writes that Gudkov announced the launching of his own social-democratic project, to which he plans to lure his former colleagues still loyal to him.

"Our party's name will be Russia's Social Democrats. Already the organizing committee convenes for meetings, and the Congress is due to be held on December 15. We wish to confront the multitude of fake parties which are Kremlin projects, such as People's Alliance, and spoiler parties manipulating the registration law," the newspaper quoted Gudkov Sr. as saying. "Many former deputies from A Just Russia, including Dmitry Gudkov, Ilya Ponomaryov and lawmakers from other factions of the Russian parliament, promised to join, but asked for a one to two-month pause in order to have their matters settled in region," Gudkov said. He also said the new parties would hold talks with registered political forces on pooling their efforts. It is planned to invite Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov to the Congress.

Gleb Pavlovsky, president of the Effective Politics Foundation, cited by the Izvestia, is skeptical about the prospects for the new social-democratic movement. Political bodies will be deciding if they should register this party or not. "Most likely, they will be able to secure approval and become a registered political party, taking into account our latest trends," the political analyst said. As for the future of this party, it is quite nebulous. "Firstly, we already had some 20 social-democratic projects, of which none evolved into a truly strong organization," Pavlovsky said. "Secondly, Gudkov does not look like a left-leaning politician. Most likely, the party can only score some achievement at municipal elections."

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