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Russian Duma to Hold No-Confidence Vote Next Week
Russia's lower house of parliament scheduled a March 14 vote of no-confidence in the government on Tuesday, a move which could trigger President Vladimir Putin's first major political crisis.
But last-minute hesitation by the Unity party, which strongly backs Putin but on Monday supported the no-confidence vote in a tactical maneuver, reduced the chances of the motion getting through.
Under the law, if the Duma voted no-confidence twice in three months with a simple majority, Putin would have to sack the government or call an election.
The Communist Party called the vote, but as they and their allies control only around 150 seats in the 450-seat Duma, they have no chance of pushing it through by themselves, and their campaign for the vote was seen as largely demonstrative.
But Unity's surprise decision to support them had changed the scene, as the Communists, Unity and their allies together control enough votes for a no-confidence motion to succeed.
Unity says it has no problems with the government of Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, but believes an early election would give it more seats, so strengthening Putin.
But in fact a successful vote of no-confidence would cause a headache for the president, whose efforts to maintain political stability in a country racked by 10 years of post-Soviet transformation have made him its most popular politician by far.
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