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Rudolf Bindig says that there is no real opposition in Russia any longer

Rudolf Bindig (Germany, SOC), a Member of the German Parliament and leader of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly observer delegation to the presidential election of Sunday 14 March in Russia, criticises the lack of equal opportunities during the election campaign resulting from television reporting biased in favour of the incumbent, Vladimir Putin. He says that Putin's concept of "managed democracy" conflicts with open pluralist democracy.

Interview (Berlin, 11.03.2004)

Question: Do you expect the election to be conducted correctly and without any manipulation?

Rudolf Bindig: Council of Europe delegations have already observed several ballots in the Russian Federation, both presidential and parliamentary elections. We have noted that, for each succeeding election, the technical arrangements have been improved. In the light of this development, we are optimistic that everything will run smoothly and that we will have no cause to record any failure to run the formal procedure correctly.

Question: Mr Putin is already being talked about in the run-up to the election as the clear winner, and there are not even any serious opposition candidates. Politically speaking, is this still a democratic election, or is not more of a plebiscite, held to confirm an already established result?

Rudolf Bindig: We would have welcomed it if several heavyweight candidates had stood for election. We would then have had an election which would have been democratically more lively. Unfortunately, no serious and qualified rival of Mr Putin’s was in a position to see through a campaign. This shortcoming cannot be denied. There is no doubt that Mr Putin holds a politically dominant position in his country. But it also has to be accepted that, with his strong personality, he does fit in with a mindset which is common among the Russian population. He satisfies the desire felt by most Russians to have a capable, sporty and powerful leader at the helm.

Question: Does the lack of rivals not also show, however, that no genuine opposition can now develop in the political structures and the political climate of Russia?

Rudolf Bindig: It is a fact that there is no real opposition in Russia any longer. Since the latest Duma elections, the remaining critical forces in the liberal camp have been finding it very difficult to assert themselves against the President and all his power. Mr Putin has a concept which he refers to as “managed democracy”, and he carries this strategy through rigorously, not without consequences. Of course these circumstances conflict with the vision of an open pluralist democracy.

Question: Can we speak of a democratic election campaign if the main media do not report in an independent and critical fashion, instead promoting Mr Putin’s re-election?

Rudolf Bindig: That is one of the most critical aspects of this presidential election. The big television channels in particular have been showing bias in taking Mr Putin’s side during the campaign. This kind of journalism, greatly affected by the huge influence of the Kremlin over the electronic media, violates the principle of equality of opportunity. A slightly different attitude has to be taken to the way in which the newspapers have been reporting on the election.

Question: Can the Council of Europe, as well as monitoring an election process, bring its influence to bear in the interest of a genuine democracy? We only have to think of the influence of the security apparatus.

Rudolf Bindig: The current election observation exercise will simply give us a snapshot of the situation. Looking beyond election day, what is at stake is the future of pluralist democracy and the separation of powers according to the rule of law in Russia. It is in particular incumbent on the Council of Europe to give its support to the development of a lively civil society. As far as Mr Putin’s “managed democracy” is concerned, it is absolutely vital to support the development of independent public-law broadcasting, in order to provide space for public criticism.