Vladislav Davankov presented the “optimization” and “normalization” program

Presidential candidate from the New People party, State Duma Deputy Speaker Vladislav Davankov presented his election program on Thursday. The document contains 170 points, combined into 18 sections. Its economic bloc is based on strengthening the role of regions, developing entrepreneurship, optimizing government spending and redistributing spending in favor of education and healthcare. And the political division provides for foreign policy “normalization”, democratization.

Dutifully recalling that the program was largely filled with proposals from the regions, the candidate from “New People” (NL) highlighted the main thing: “This is a program of peaceful development. I hear people say that people would like to get to Warsaw, to fight with NATO… I traveled through 19 regions, in every room I asked: would you like to get to Warsaw? People didn’t say that at any meeting.” “Many times I have been asked what my position is (regarding the SVO.— “Kommersant”), continued Vladislav Davankov. “I believe that first of all there should be negotiations and it is very important that they lead to our Russia being independent and strong.” In the history of the country there were “shameful worlds” when “problems in foreign policy were reflected in domestic policy,” the deputy added: “We all want our country to be strong and great, but not only to be afraid of it, but to be proud of its achievements, people, successes and economic growth rates.” This, he said, will be achieved, among other things, by redistributing budget expenditures – up to 20% in favor of healthcare and education.

NL leader Alexei Nechaev recalled that their candidate’s program is also a party program, and many of its points directly inherit the theses from the 2021 State Duma elections. “First of all, the idea of ​​freedom,” the politician pointed out. “In both economic and social life, without freedom there will be no strong country.” “The person is at the center of the program,” and its points are aimed at developing human potential, he noted: “The idea of ​​self-realization in Russia is probably the most popular idea. This is our cultural code, and there is no need to look for any state ideologies: it lies in self-realization.” Sources of funding are also taken into account in the document, Mr. Nechaev said, not without pride: ““New People” is about how to make money, how to become richer, and not just “divide the pie.” And in every sentence about where to send money, the source and where to get it from is also named.”

State Duma deputy Sardana Avksentyeva added specifics. First of all, she mentioned the return of direct elections of mayors, the growth of maternity capital and the “transformation of state corporations”: “They need to be rid of non-core, unprofitable investments, and ineffective ones should be disbanded and transferred on a competitive basis to private management.” Among the important ones, the deputy also listed points on the payment of taxes “at the place of extraction and production” (“subsidization of the regions is a fictitious construct that allows you to keep them on a leash from the center”), on “de-bureaucratization and transparency” of the law enforcement system and on the renunciation of “persecution for dissent.” and ideological censorship.” “It’s time to introduce clear language into the laws, to determine what really threatens state security, and is not a pretext for the political persecution of undesirables, dissidents, to abolish all repressive norms that, instead of fighting hostility, only humiliate people and incite discord,” Ms. Avksentieva is sure.

The deputy chairman of the Growth Party, which is preparing to merge with the NL, Viktor Zvagelsky, also focused on politics. “The shortcoming of our party was that in our programs and speeches we relied purely on economic postulates and disavowed politics,” he admitted. “It is important that Vladislav’s program contains a lot of tough, clear and bold political points.” Among these, Mr. Zvagelsky named the fight against “serial informers” and encouraging the return of relocants.

The ideas of some nominees who were not on the ballot, in particular Anatoly Batashev and Boris Nadezhdin, were also not alien to candidate Davankov. In the latter’s program, the vice speaker liked the “big block on normalization,” he said, answering questions from the media. “Any war ends with negotiations and peace, but what matters is what kind of peace it will be,” he emphasized. And he added that he stands for political competition, equality of ideas and their supporters. Other media questions concerned the candidate’s plans to regulate the media sphere (he advocated unblocking all social networks), financial support for the stated social items (the politician again insisted on optimizing government spending, especially in terms of government procurement and the bureaucracy), as well as resolving the Ukrainian crisis. “I believe that the parties, including the West, are ready to begin negotiations, but it would be strange to voice a negotiating position in this audience. Politics is always about compromises, they can be found, but it is extremely important that Russia is strong, rich and independent,” concluded Mr. Davankov.

Grigory Leiba