Party leader, Gennadiy Zyuganov, told his colleagues that the current situation is Russia was ‘favorable’ – even though the authorities managed to tone down the active protests, the number of people who support United Russia is on the decrease. Zyuganov quoted the latest opinion polls that show only 24 percent of voters said they were supporting the present majority party and only 29 percent said they were supporting Vladimir Putin – a marked fall from 2012 when the share of those who supported Putin was over 63 percent Zyuganov then added that the Communist parliamentarians must be more on the September 8 election day so they overcome voter negativity and get the representation they deserve. At the moment Communists hold slightly over 8,000 seats in federal and regional parliaments – a very small share of a total of over 221,000 seats. The Communist leader gave a typical outline of the major drawbacks of modern capitalism, offering his party faithful a set of ready-made arguments for future election debates. Zyuganov described the current situation in the world as the collapse of the existing financial system and a vivid proof that capitalism cannot solve the problems that it had created. He accused Russian and international oligarchs of “robbing Russia and its people”, capital flight, dominance of resource sector in the economy and poor state of society. The communist head said that “almost all major Russian companies” now belong to foreign investors who extract the profits, saving on taxes, social programs and also on the modernization of production facilities. He also said the current fall in production growth and dire state of many of Russian regions “have proved that the reforms, planned and conducted by the current Russian authorities, had failed completely”. Despite their leader’s calls, some of the top members of the party remained skeptical about their chances in the September polls. State Duma member Vadim Potomskiy and parliamentary of the Vladimir Region Lyudmila Bunina both said in comments to Kommersand daily that the support from the President and federal ministries gave great advantage to United Russia candidates and no strategy could overweight this. Some regional politicians, on the contrary, said that they believed that their results will be better than those of previous elections. Communist party members from Buryatia, Ryazan and Kalmykia, said that their representation in regional parliaments will grow after the September polls. Kommersant’s experts took a medium position, saying that communists might repeat or slightly improve their representation in regional legislatures, but had very little chances at gubernatorial polls. … Read More
President Putin says he is bored with the same sex marriage issue, but ready to sign adoptions ban
“You really got me with these same sex marriages. Wherever I go… When I come to Europe they are waving their flags there, I come here – now you start pestering me with this,” the Russian leader told the press at a news conference at the Russia-EU summit in Yekaterinburg. “As for the bill banning the adoption of Russian children by same sex couples, I currently have no such bill and I have not read it. But if such bill is approved by the national parliament I would sign it,” the president said. Putin also added that in his view all people must be more tolerant and show less aggression, this equally applies to persons of traditional and non-traditional sexual orientation. “Less aggression and less emphasis on these problems would benefit everybody,” he noted. The Russian President said that the laws in his country were very liberal in regard of LGBT issues and there was no discrimination. “People of all preferences are working in our country, making careers. We recognize them at state level for particular achievements in the fields where they work,” he said. In January the Russian national parliament approved a law banning gay propaganda. After France – one of few countries that have bilateral agreements on adoption with Russia – moved to legalize same sex marriage, Russian politicians said that foreign same sex couples should not be allowed to adopt Russian kids. The bill on the subject is still at a preparatory stage. Russia recognizes only marriage between a man and a woman. Male homosexuality was a criminal offence punishable by a prison term in the Soviet Union, but this was repealed in 1993. Minorities still accuse the Russian authorities of infringing their rights as they refuse to legalize gay marriage and regularly refuse to license gay pride events. Officials usually quote public opinion polls saying that the majority of the population would react violently to such moves. … Read More
Poll results point to ‘very exciting’ 2014 election
As Sweden’s political parties react to the latest Statistics Sweden opinion poll, the results point to the possibility of new political constellations following the 2014 parliamentary elections. … Read More
Moderates continue to tumble in new poll
Sweden’s centre-left opposition parties have the support of the majority of Swedish voters, a much-watched opinion poll revealed on Tuesday, while support for Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt’s Moderates continues to sink. … Read More
Human rights group Memorial ‘has signs of foreign agent’ – Russian prosecutors
On Friday, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court rejected Memorial’s appeal against the off-schedule inspection carried out on March 26 by the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office and representatives of the Revenue and the Justice ministries. Following the inspection, prosecutors said they had evidence that Memorial’s activities indicated the organization is a “foreign agent,” a prosecutor told the court.In particular, it was discovered that the NGO received “over 52 million rubles ($1.6 million) in 2010 from foreign citizens and organizations,” he explained. In 2011, Memorial got “over 40 million rubles ($1.2 million), including from the Ford Foundation,” as well as other companies registered in the US, the law enforcer added, according to Itar-Tass.The inspection also revealed that Memorial – one of the oldest Russian human rights organizations – was involved in political activities in the country aimed at influencing public opinion and pressuring authorities, the prosecutor stated. Memorial’s defense lawyers are set to appeal the ruling at a higher court, RAPSI agency reported.Memorial, a historic international charity and human rights group, began its work in 1987. Initially, the group’s purpose, inspired by Soviet dissident Andrey Sakharov, was to research political repression in the USSR. It was officially founded in 1989, and developed into a human rights organization.The controversial Russian law that requires all politically active non-governmental organizations that receive funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” came into force in November 2012. Such NGOs now face heightened controls, including the requirement they file a financial report to officials every quarter, as well as a yearly audit report. Violations are punishable by fines of up to 500,000 rubles ($15,700).Critics have slammed the law as a possible instrument by which authorities can pressure and restrict funding to human rights organizations. Supporters of the law, including some senior Russian officials, maintain that the law’s goal is to better inform the public on activists’ income sources. They have also emphasized that no organization can be shut down under the law.In March 2013, Russian authorities launched major unannounced inspections of NGOs to determine whether their activities corresponded with the objectives declared in their charters. In late April – while the audit was still ongoing – the Ministry of Justice stated that 18 groups would be designated ‘foreign agents.’ … Read More
Iceland’s government promises EU referendum
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The newly-elected government of Iceland has promised to hold a referendum on EU membership.
Talks began nearly three years ago but have now been called off.
Fish and fish products make up 70 percent of the country’s exports and fishing rights are the most contentious issue in negotiations.
The prime minister says no date has been set yet for the referendum.
But a report will be presented to parliament on the status of accession talks and the current situation in the EU as this has changed since Iceland originally applied.
Iceland asked to join the EU in 2009, shortly after it had been through one of the worst financial crises in Europe.
The country’s banking system collapsed but export strength means Iceland has made a good recovery since then.
Opinion polls suggest the majority of the population are now against joining, fearing their fishing rights may be eroded.
More about: EU Enlargement, Iceland, Icelandic politics
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