West miscalculates over Russia
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The New Yorker, probably the only magazine left in the US at which the writers read books instead of watching TV, carried a first-hand account of the recent election in Russia (Julia Ioffe, December 5), noting at one point that a Communist Party observer
Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party reportedly saw its support drop by 14-15 per cent in the election, giving it about 52-53 per cent of the seats. Western media are of course gloating about Putin’s apparent losses without considering the ramifications: the second-place Communist Party made big gains to 92 seats (20-21 per cent) in the 450-seat parliament and Russia, like Thailand, relies upon coalition governments in some situations – meaning that the West is celebrating a rise in communism, as United Russia and the communists might have to join to form a coalition.
Should politicians in the West now be patting each other on the back? Should there be handshakes all around? The effort in the West has been to sabotage Putin at any cost, and this is what it might cost: Those who would not co-operate with Putin might soon have to deal with Putin plus the communists. Now, where are all those victory parties?
Guy Baker
Bangkok
