Mikhail Zakharov about why the voter is waiting for the “new faces”, but votes usually for the “old”
Mikhail Zakharov
Vladimir Sachkov Ackowledged, 1957
In the famous Soviet cartoon “Three from Buttermilk” is the moment when Cindy brings home a cat Matroskin, and mother put before the Pope the question bluntly: it’s either her or the cat. What the Pope says, “Well, I’ll choose! I’ve been acquainted with you, and this cat I’ve ever seen!” This type of motivation is typical for other cases of choice between the known and faintly familiar — whether it’s yogurt, TV or Parliament. But there is one caveat: as believe almost all Russian politicians and a significant part of Russian voters, the people in the elections required new faces.
In the extreme version of this argument is described by the formula “got these faces on TV” (or similar, but quite unprintable formulas). The intrigue on both parts of the movie “election Day”, for example, is built around the fatigue from the previous, boring politicians and appearing “out of nowhere” a completely new politics — “a new person” which is not tied in dirty political games.
Between Scylla and Charybdis and try to climb the political actors in Russia.
On the one hand, the voter is afraid of the new, with the other tired old. What he wants — absolutely incomprehensible. And there is a serious question: how to please him?
Most of the candidates are striving primarily to satisfy the demand for “new faces” in rhetorical and statistical key. It is everywhere, and everywhere declares, their particular party was updated and how young she now looks and feels.
Here Vladimir Zhirinovsky advertise your list to the CEC to journalists: “we Have the most powerful update of the fraction is 70-80% and by age. The average age is 32 years, eight years less than in the previous convocation”. Or Sergei Mironov talks about his candidates: “Today the Central election Commission I handed over the documents on 333 candidates by regional groups and 223 of the candidate in single-mandate constituencies. The youngest candidate of the party “Fair Russia” 21. This is the minimum age for a candidate according to the Constitution”.
And even earlier, after edinorossovskih primaries, the same was said by Sergey Neverov: “approved leaders in 225 single-mandate districts only 74 are members of the state Duma. 151 people — those who participated first time in such procedure. Neverov is not disingenuous — second “opavsky” the call of United Russia, added “fresh blood”. Cost to recall the widely publicized winners of the primaries — Lyubov Dukhanina, Anna Kuznetsova (she dropped out of the race after the appointment of the Ombudsman for children at the end of the working week), Peter Tolstoy, Yevgeny Revenko, Dmitry Morozov, and many others.
Very often, it turns out, all parties update.
However, in reality the backbone of the list of most serious participants in the electoral process consists of proven political fighters, and the same “youth” is in the lists of the parties is clearly impassable places and to any seats in the Parliament in fact does not apply.
But it gives statistics for the speeches of party bosses. For, so to say, accountability to the electorate: they wanted new and young, we have them.
Moreover, all the Russian parties, at least something claiming, in essence, act as catch-all parties, i.e. non-ideological structures, seeking not to miss the voice, neither young nor elderly nor poor, neither rich nor educated, nor have graduated from nine classes. Neither women nor war with the police. The game for them in gender, sex, age or professional orientation frankly harmful.
Here comes in this consideration: what if the lion’s share of the electorate that other things being equal would vote for the Communists fear “Zyuganov elders”? Do not miss them — that the Communists invent repeatedly their formats “youth work” and strive to get rid of the reputation of the aging of the party. It turns out badly, but not to try is impossible. The same with the socialist-revolutionaries, who even came up with pretty poveselili political journalists and polytonalities “Debate — quaidabad in the form of competition among rappers to politicians.
However, the factor “youth” and “novelty” candidates is a double-edged sword, and the party is forced to take this into account. Because youth means for the voter and the lack of experience.
It also included a very peculiar argument: “in the Present, at least, stolen and new ones will come — will again begin to steal.”
So any update should be strictly dosed. In addition, the voter requires not only new faces, but professionals with experience.” And then old age is clearly not a hindrance.
Yes and the party leaders ‘ motivation to upgrade there. Though, because the majority of Russian parties — the personalistic structure, a kind of private enterprise in the hands of their longtime leaders. What’s the rotation, where did it come from? Talk about leaving Zyuganov are significantly more than ten years, but Gennady Zyuganov, appears to be in the future political cycle will try to remain as leader of the Russian Communists. And with Zhirinovsky, and Mironov, and even Kasyanov.
Even “Apple”, which clearly tries to attract in addition to the nuclear electorate of young people and strongly positioning itself as a “new “Apple, still put forward as leader Grigory Yavlinsky.
The “liberal” party here at a case — arguing that they — the party successfully, the party of change, party of the future, they still exhibit obvious “politicians of the past”: Oksana Dmitrieva and Irina Khakamada — the Party of growth, Grigory Yavlinsky, Sergey Mitrokhin and Vladimir Ryzhkov — in Yabloko, Mikhail Kasyanov and Andrei Zubov in PARNASSUS. Although the latter can be considered for the “new face” due to the almost zero publicity even nuclear electorate PARNASSUS.
Following the demands of the “ideal voter in a vacuum”, political players seek to demonstrate “a fusion of youth and experience.” Well, that is the answer for young people not young, and experience is often quite competent? But they are known and in Russian politics is the main factor of success. Not only in Russian: hope young left-wing Democrats during the American primaries was Bernie Sanders. He is not young and not “new face”, but to satisfy the requests of the voters, who are tired of “these faces.
In General, 60 and even 70 years — is quite comfortable, the perfect age for a politician, as assured Muller Stirlitz in the famous film “17 moments of spring”.
The main participants of the race in his own right, especially as a voter in the mass does not want to change the flea. In addition to individual exceptions like voting for Zhirinovsky in 1993 (although the TRP and then was literally a new person) and for the bloc “Rodina” Glazyev – Rogozin (both were also very famous) in 2003, the voter prefers well-known brands or parties, which are clear to him and influential politicians.
Citizens clearly demonstrate that the new person they are willing to see and want to see them, but only for God knows who to vote for they don’t want. Because the ratings of almost all small parties two weeks before the election is not beyond the statistical error — even for the “Lean” look, at least according to VTSIOM FOM. They like dad Uncle Theodore — even if the cat they are cute, and her mother lived obviously longer.
