New Duma speaker intrigue open

Lower House Chairman Boris Gryzlov, who has headed the State Duma for seven years, may not hold the position in the new convocation. United Russia has said it will consider candidates and invited everyone to put forward their suggestions.

“Discussions are possible,” secretary of the party presidium Sergey Neverov told RIA Novosti news agency, adding that the initiatives can be sent through the United Russia website. In addition, during a media briefing devoted to the outcome of the parliamentary election, Neverov promised that all socially-important proposals will be discussed not only in parliament, but also nationwide.“Anyone who considers themselves an expert in the field can forward an initiative,” he observed. According to preliminary results of the December 4 election to the lower house of the Russian parliament, United Russia has won with about 50 per cent of the vote and will get 238 out of 450 seats. “This is enough for us to implement our electoral program,” Neverov said on Monday.Despite having a majority, United Russia is ready to form a coalition with other parties.“If we share views on an issue with this or that party, why don’t we join forces to adopt a decision? This is what we call normal, civilized work,” head of United Russia Executive Committee Andrey Vorobyov commented.