Green Alliance intends to unite with social democrats
MOSCOW. Jan 23 (Interfax) - A political union comprising social democrats, including Gennady and Dmitry Gudkov and Ilya Ponomaryov, will be created on the basis of the party Green Alliance - People's Party.
"We are talking about the creation of a unified party. It will be co-chaired by Gleb Fetisov and Gennady Gudkov. This structure will also comprise other parties: Freedom and Justice, Free Citizens' Party, and Kolokol," Gennady Gudkov told Interfax on Wednesday.
Gennady Gudkov said the administration of the new party will comprise State Duma deputies Dmitry Gudkov and Ilya Ponomaryov (A Just Russia faction). The party will be led by Oleg Mitvol, who now leads the Green Alliance - People's Party.
"It will be a different party based on the Green Alliance. It will have social democratic and green ideologies. Thus, the existing party will be reformatted into a big political union, which will fight for power," Gennady Gudkov
Mitvol said the unification congress will be held on January 25. "Some 1,000 people from various organizations in the Moscow region have joined the division of our party for the Moscow region. Social democrats and some other parties will join us at the congress on Saturday. We expect to become the fifth largest party after this congress because we will have a group of deputies in the parliament," Mitvol told Interfax.
Mitvol said Gennady Gudkov, Dmitry Gudkov, and Ponomaryov will not actually enter the new Green Alliance, but will stay representatives of the A Just Russia faction in the State Duma while taking an active part in the work of the new party.
