Russian Lawmakers Will Propose
New Candidates for Prime Minister
Associated Press
MOSCOW -- Russian opposition leaders said Saturday they had as many
as nine alternatives to Boris Yeltsin's choice for prime minister, including
several top Soviet-era bureaucrats.
Their remarks kicked off a second weekend of behind-the-scenes
negotiations to end a political and financial crisis that has begun to spur
anxiety among ordinary Russians worried about further instability.
The Communist-dominated parliament unexpectedly postponed hearings
Friday on whether to confirm the president's pick for premier, Viktor
Chernomyrdin.
Party leaders agreed to hold talks with Mr. Yeltsin on Monday before a
rescheduled debate on Mr. Chernomyrdin that day.
"I don't expect anything good from Mr. Yeltsin" on Monday, Communist
leader Gennady Zyuganov told the Associated Press.
"We will state our opinion of the real situation. Because he rarely meets
[with lawmakers], he doesn't know the situation. He is not governing," Mr.
Zyuganov added.
Mr. Zyuganov said he and his hard-line allies have nine possible
alternatives to Mr. Chernomyrdin, whom they blame for creating Russia's
current economic predicament during the five years he was prime minister
before being fired in March.
"The Yeltsin-Chernomyrdin couple ... are distrusted by 9 out of 10 people
now," Zyuganov said. "By the end of September they will be distrusted by
98 out of 100 people. They have no assets, no resources, no brains, no
will ... They have nothing."
Mr. Yeltsin brought Mr. Chernomyrdin back to head the government on
Aug. 23, saying he needed an experienced heavyweight to deal with the
country's mounting problems.
Mr. Yeltsin has been locked in a standoff with parliament since then, while
the economy deteriorates.
On Friday, the ruble dropped another 21% and sharp price increases
spurred consumer anxiety.
"I started to get worried today for the first time," said one shopper, retired
theater director Nina Vasilyeva. "The idea of stocking up hadn't even
come into my head before. But groceries are now twice as expensive. I'm
buying things I don't need because everybody's bought the rest."
The official ruble rate fell Friday to 16.9 to the dollar, or 5.8 cents, down
from 13.4 to the dollar, or 7.4 cents, on Thursday. The street rate was
even lower.
The leader of the Communist-allied Agrarian Party said the alternative
candidates for prime minister include Vladimir Gerashchenko, whose
favorite response to economic problems as Central Bank chairman in the
Soviet era was to print more money, and Yuri Maslyukov, former head of
the Soviet state planning agency.
Agrarian leader Nikolai Kharitonov said they would also suggest Moscow
Mayor Yuri Luzhkov; Yegor Stroyev, speaker of the Federation Council,
the upper house of parliament; and Gennady Kulik, deputy chairman of the
parliamentary budget committee, the Interfax news agency reported.
The opposition considered proposing Mr. Zyuganov as well, Interfax said.
"I decided not to name Zyuganov because this name gives the president
heartburn," Mr. Kharitonov said. Mr. Zyuganov came in second to Mr.
Yeltsin in the 1996 presidential elections.
Mr. Yeltsin has said he will nominate no one other than Mr.
Chernomyrdin.
Under the constitution, Mr. Yeltsin has three chances to propose a prime
ministerial candidate, either the same person or different people. If the
Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, rejects Mr. Yeltsin's choice three
times, the president can disband the legislature and call new elections.
Ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky predicted Saturday that Mr.
Chernomyrdin would be confirmed if Monday's vote is a secret one, rather
than an open vote. The Communists have called for an open vote,
apparently hoping to keep their members from quietly supporting Mr.
Chernomyrdin to avoid early elections that they could lose.
Mr. Chernomyrdin's position was strengthened Friday when the
Federation Council passed a non-binding motion 91-17 expressing
confidence in him.
The vote was symbolic, but it may increase pressure on the Duma to find a
compromise. The regional governors who make up the Council have huge
power and the vote signaled they would back Mr. Yeltsin in a showdown.
"Viktor Chernomyrdin, if approved for the premiership, will be able to
take real steps for taking the country out of the crisis in a short time," said
Alexander Lebed, the former national security adviser recently elected
governor of the huge Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia. |
