Interfax: Senior One Russia MP dismisses Navalny party as serious political rival

(Interfax – February 12, 2014) Sergey Neverov, secretary of One Russia’s general council and State Duma deputy speaker has said that for the time being he does not consider both Russian protest leader Aleksey Navalnyy and his unregistered Progress Party (former People’s Alliance) serious political competitors. He made these remarks when speaking to journalists on 12 February, privately-owned news agency Interfax reported on the same day.

Asked to comment on the competitive capacity of Navalnyy’s party as well as of the protest leader himself, Neverov said: “We are ready to compete with anyone. Any party taking part in the elections enters competitive area. However, there is always one winner”. He also added: “As for [Aleksey] “Navalnyy he has not yet defeated anyone or won anything”.

At the same time, Neverov said that, in his opinion, Progress Party would eventually be registered “if everything is done in compliance with the law”.

Earlier in January, Russia’s Ministry of Justice suspended the registration of then-People’s Alliance party of Navalnyy supporters, following the state registration of an organization bearing the same name which was set up by pundit Andrey Bogdanov on the basis of the My Native Country (vernacular: Rodnaya Strana) party. As a result, People’s Alliance changed its name at an extraordinary party congress held on 8 February and became Progress Party.

Commenting on the situation, Neverov said: “One cannot act like a ‘bull in a china shop’ when it comes to politics, cannot force their way, guided by personal interests only: gather people from regions for a congress, engage oneself in plagiarism, in effect seizing someone else’s name, and then blame everyone for their problems,” Neverov said.

[featured image is file photo from unrelated political rally in past]