Civic Platform (Russia)
The Civic Platform is a Russian liberal party, founded in 2012 under the leadership of Mikhail Prokhorov. It sees itself as a loose alliance of progressive forces that woos supporters, especially in the major Russian cities.
History
The emergence of the party is directly connected to the political career of the oligarch Prokhorov. This is one of the richest Russian businessmen with assets of about 18 billion U.S. dollars and in 2011 began before the Duma elections suddenly a political career. He had to collect before, during the Russian parliamentary elections in 2011 at the head of the pro-business Right Cause party in the Duma, but gave up because he claimed not to want to share the remote control of the party by the government. But Prokhorov joined the Russian presidential elections of March 4, 2012 as a liberal opposition candidate and came up with 7.98 % of votes in third place behind Vladimir Putin and the Communists Gennady Zyuganov. After this defeat Prokhorov pursued the establishment of a new party, the Grazhdanskaya platformâ ( Гражданская платформа ) to German citizens platform. The party carries with it the same name as the Polish Civic Platform Donald Tusk.
The party will initially consist of 500 members, and focus on the Russian elections in the fall, Prokhorov declared on June 4, 2012 in Moscow. Prokhorov himself does not rule out to run as a candidate for mayor of Moscow, if he gains the internal party preselection. He will however not a member of the Civic Platform. Also, there would be no founding congress. But on July 7, 2012, the party was constituted at a congress in Moscow.
On October 27, 2012, Prokhorov announced on another party congress in Moscow that he was now joined yet and wanted to concentrate on political work. The elected on the same day the 11-member Federal Executive Board consists of various liberal politicians (including Solomon Ginsburg ), are to be found in a 17 -member committee of supporters representatives of civil society (including the singer Alla Pogatschowa and the economist Vladimir Ryzhkov ).
Some observers fear that the party establishment - similar to the 2011 -initiated party rights thing - has been controlled by the government either, or that the party Prokhorov future would tender the ruling elites.
Program
The aim of the party was to give the non-Party activists and public dignitaries the opportunity to participate in elections as candidates. Prominent party it should not be. The party will decide by internal primaries, whom she supports in which local elections. The party was ready with all other parties, including the ruling party to cooperate.