In the evening of October, 18th Sergey Sobjanin held a meeting with public-consultative council of parties at Moscow City Duma. "The applicant for a post of the mayor of Moscow recognized that he doesn't have concrete program and told about his vision of city problems", press-service of "Yabloko" informs.
Sobjanin expressed regrets concerning absence of the majority of parties in the capital parliament, however, in his opinion, "Edinaya Russia" is not guilty in it. The candidate for mayor considers necessary to consult with parties as they represent "concrete voters". Sobjanin promised to meet council of parties "not less often than once in half a year".
Answering questions of representatives of parties, Sergey Sobjanin didn't recognize presence of such problems as unequal access of parties to mass-media and absence of real powers of local governments.
During discussion Council decided not to express opinion concerning Sergey Sobjanin's support. Thus representatives of "Yabloko" declared impossibility to support the candidate as Muscovites don't know his program of solving of city problems.
From editorial board: It is very good that Sobjanin decided not to meet real opposition which is not presented in Council at Moscow City Duma. We will remind that today representatives of Moscow Council and Left Front directed corresponding reference to Moscow City Duma. Sobjanin gave obvious answer to the main question of the reference of Moscow Council - whether he has concrete program - without such meeting: he has no program, he couldn't take it from somewhere.
The mechanism of promotion of the mayor of Moscow is such that there's no need to ask him questions. Without saying that, despite of lacking of the program, on Thursday Sobjanin becomes the capital governor at almost unanimous voting - 2-3 voices against aren't taken into consideration.
What will change as a matter of fact after replacement of Luzhkov by Sobjanin? In fact - nothing. In details, most probably, it will become even worse. Sobjanin doesn't know city and its problems, its experience of management the Tyumen region will help him a little owing to very different specificity of these two objects. He has long and painful way of reorganization of capital bureaucracy under the new chief ahead and he will have no time to reform anything - he need at least to keep controllability.
The more so Sobjanin will have no time for political innovations - the capital opposition will soon irritate him even more strongly, than it irritated Luzhkov.
As to the fight against corruption - Sobjanin has extremely doubtful prospects - it's enough to look at his recordd of service, positive changes in it began just after a marriage in 1986 to Irina Rubinchik, cousin of the former Minister of Fuel and Energy of Russia Alexander Gavrin. In 1985 Sobjanin is only the head of the department of housing and communal services of settlement Kogalym but from 1988 already assistant manager of organization and planning division of District Committee of CPSU in Khanty-Mansyisk. Further career, as they say, "went up in the world".
The second question - again about the spouse. In the biography of Sobjanin is specified that his wife Irina in 2004-2005 taught collage and floristic art in the Tyumen center of children's development named after P.I.Podaruev and now... owns road-building company.
Whether it doesn't suggests an idea that in the near future madam Rubinchik will, as well as Yury Luzhkov's spouse, develop big talent for big business? Such thing happens here and there with women-governors in Russia.
Anatoly Baranov, editor-in-chief of FORUM.msk
PS. Sergey Sobjanin declared that he considers "development of a transport network the main priority", press-service of "Yabloko" informs. Obviously, little time will pass we will see successes of road-building business...
