On Tuesday, the acting and newly elected, but yet to assume office, presidents of Russia met with the leadership of the lower house of parliament. The deputies discussed further legislative work on the implementation of the 2020 strategy and the reform of the structure of government, and drank to constructive opposition
Only 18 people attended the meeting. The State Duma speaker, the leader of United Russia Boris Gryzlov, ten vice-speakers, the leaders of the three other parliamentary factions - the CPRF, the LDPR, and A Fair Russia – and the head of the presidential administration Sergei Sobyanin, and his deputy Vladislav Surkov came to the meeting in the Kremlin. However, one non-parliamentary politician, the head of the Yabloko party, Grigory Yavlinsky, also appeared in the Kremlin offices. He visited the head of state earlier than the Duma members, and then joined them during the joint lunch with the leaders of the country. Yavlinsky’s presence, by the way, according to the people’s elected representatives, in some ways defined the format of the closed part of the meeting; they did not venture to share at the meeting with Putin and Medvedev “all the secrets” - all too often, Grigory Alekseyevich has been visiting foreign embassies.
The main subject of conversation was the legislative work to implement the country’s development strategy up to 2020. Opening the meeting, Putin said that a clear plan of this work must be developed “as soon as possible”. The head of state called on the deputies not to wait for the appointment of a new Cabinet and to already begin work now.
A Fair Russia vice-speaker Alexander Babakov indicated the willingness of the country’s leadership to continue their chosen course for a well-thought-out and systemic social policy - pension reform and the stimulation of the birth rate by increasing maternal capital – as one of the most important results of the meeting.
United Russia member Lyubov Sliska liked the president’s proposals about the rapid adoption of anti-corruption laws and a number of amendments to the law on countering hostile takeovers.
“The problems of science and technology were discussed,” Communist vice-speaker Ivan Melnikov told journalists. “Considerable attention was given to small and medium businesses.” The Communists were satisfied with the meeting.
Deputies did not miss out lowering taxes. In particular, speaker Boris Gryzlov spoke of the need to set the VAT rate at 10%.
One of the priority areas for further work will be to change the existing structure of government. Gryzlov paid special attention to reforming the government in his report. He said that in the executive branch there are currently 85 organs of government, 16 ministries, 33 agencies, 34 services and two committees, which creates some difficulties.
Medvedev agreed with the Duma members: the current structure of the executive branch falls short, but it is not worth returning to the old structure. But Putin, speaking about the future structure of government, stressed that deputies should “look critically” at the new Cabinet.
Vice-speaker Babakov told Expert Online that Putin made a toast to “constructive opposition”, and that deputies remarked that it would be a good idea to adopt a special law regulating interaction between the various political forces in the Duma. Zhirinovsky, with his characteristic directness, then added: in the law about the opposition it would be good to assign 20% of the seats in the Duma to his party, and leave 10% to the Communists.
On the whole, all the participants of the meeting characterized it as being aimed at further discussion of previously promulgated ideas, and Dmitry Medvedev promised that in future such events would be held fairly regularly.
Vera Kholmogorova
Photo: ITAR-TASS
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