There is a lot of talk at the moment about the need to update and rebrand United Russia, and this is certainly a necessary move. It is clear that Medvedev plans to consolidate the party and boost its image after taking control.
ValdaiClub.com interviewed Vitaly Tretyakov, Dean of the Higher School of Television at Moscow’s Lomonosov State University.
What tasks do you think Dmitry Medvedev has been set as leader of the United Russia party?
I do not believe that he has been set any specific objectives. I cannot be certain but I think that leading United Russia was his own idea. It is a tradition for Russian presidents not to be a part of any political party. Therefore, once Medvedev’s term is over, he is free to be an active member of or lead a party.
It is more likely that Medvedev has set objectives for himself. One of them is to take control of the party, which has certain strengths. First of all, according to many formal indicators, United Russia is the most powerful and influential political party, and has a parliamentary majority. Secondly, leading such a party will make it easier for Medvedev, as the head of government, to push his bills through the Duma.
There is a lot of talk at the moment about the need to update and rebrand United Russia, and this is certainly a necessary move. It is clear that Medvedev plans to consolidate the party and boost its image after taking control.
What could he do to update the party’s status and image?
Until recently, United Russia has never attempted to change its image, and therefore it cannot rid itself of the unflattering label of a "party of crooks and thieves" that the opposition gave it. Medvedev will have to work hard on the party’s reputation and ideology.
United Russia’s status as the largest parliamentary party is good enough for now. However, regional elections could weaken its influence across the country by the time of the next Duma elections.
Therefore, there are two things that need to be done right away: develop the party's ideology and send a clear message to the general public, in order to rid the party of the “crooks and thieves" label. In addition, the party itself is somewhat disunited. Some members support Putin’s policy, while others prefer the principles declared by Medvedev. It can certainly be argued that pluralism is healthy for a political party. But there are as many as four discussion clubs within United Russia, which is too much for one party.
Next, until recently it was difficult to single out a clear party leader. Boris Gryzlov was the one who created its governing bodies. Putin was the official leader, while Medvedev eventually topped the party’s election ticket. So who is the true leader? This issue at least should soon be resolved once and for all.
Many analysts believe that United Russia was a burden for Vladimir Putin. Do you agree with this statement?
It's true – most experts do claim that the party became a burden for him. Whatever the case, his personal popularity appeared to be much higher than that of the party, as the results of the presidential election on March 4 showed. Moreover, the Russian public, the voters, including supporters of United Russia, did not even view him as being associated with the party during his presidential campaign, except probably his opponents. According to various media reports, his regional election headquarters received instructions to avoid mentioning that Putin was the party leader or had anything to do with the party at all.
If we assume for a moment that Dmitry Medvedev was deliberately appointed as leader of United Russia in order to gradually destroy it, what force, if any, could replace it?
United Russia as the ruling party could be replaced by a new organization. But it would make no sense to set up a new party using the same people and the same administrative infrastructure.
The Russian Popular Front could be viewed as a force which could replace United Russia on the political stage if the party loses its influence. For that, the Popular Front would need to be led by Putin, because there is no other political leader on the horizon who could rally enough votes to claim the parliamentary dominance that United Russia currently enjoys.
