Russia's Yabloko members differ on party leader's possible government job

[Presenter] Grigoriy Yavlinskiy could be part of the Russian government. He told two Russian publications, Kommersant and Izvestiya, that he is considering Vladimir Putin's proposal. Yavlinskiy has refused to give a specific comment but at the same time has not denied anything. It was not possible to get in touch with the leader of Yabloko himself today as he is outside Moscow, as his press-secretary said. At that, according to Evgeniya Dilendorf, there is nothing to add to what has been reported by the newspapers.

Kommersant asserts that Grigoriy Yavlinkskiy has been offered an executive position in the department which will deal with ecological problems. It has not been ruled out that it will be a ministry.

It is interesting but Yavlinkiy's closest associates think that he should not reject it. In particular Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko party Sergey Mitrokhin recalled those party members who are already in power.

[Mitrokhin] If some sort of post was offered in the government which allows us to have a serious influence on some area of government activity, the economy, the social sphere or other lines of government activity, if this would allow us to make the present direction more civilized, I think he should perhaps accept such an offer as Vladimir Petrovich Lukin did in his time and Igor Artemyev, who raised the work of the Federal Antimonopoly Service to a new high-quality level. I think that one should show one's position in government posts as well, without abandoning one's own principles.

[Presenter] Grigoriy Yavlinskiy should enter the government only if it will work for the benefit of Russia, believes First Deputy Chairman of the party Sergey Ivanenko.

[Ivanenko] The titles of jobs are not so important for us. The main thing is to change the system of government in Russia and not just to hold a position in this system of government. But if the present government, if Dmitriy Medvedev, Vladimir Putin have the desire to actually do what they speak about, to change this system, the hierarchy of power, to make our country more civilized, more European, then we are ready to take part in it and ready to consider various offers. The crux of the matter is that the work should be to change life for the better and not to hold some post.

[Presenter] Meanwhile, the leader of Youth Yabloko Sergey Yashin holds an extremely categorical view. He believes that Grigoriy Yavlinskiy should not accept the offer to be part of the government under any circumstances.

[Yashin] I believe that for the Yabloko party, for the consistently opposing party it is absolutely unacceptable to join Putin's government. During recent years we have harshly, consistently and categorically criticized almost everything that Vladimir Putin has done as president. At that, the complaints that were made against him were of a very serious nature. They are the accusation of starting the war in Chechnya, the accusation of the destruction of parliament in Russia, the accusation of the destruction of the freedom of speech. Putin is still Putin, nothing in him has changed. Putin has done nothing that would allow the opposition to give him credit of trust. Therefore I believe that for the democratic opposition to work in Putin's government is absolutely unacceptable.

Source: Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow, in Russian 1402 gmt 8 May 08

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