Vladimir Putin's ruling party suffered a big drop in support in a parliamentary election on Sunday and was not certain even of holding on to a majority of seats, an exit poll showed.The bad news:
The communist party emerged in second place in both polls with considerable gains over 2007.Really?? It's kind of amazing that a Communist Party in Russia is a credible electoral force, after everything Communism did for Russia. Dislike Putin as much as you want, but only bad things can come from a more powerful Communist Party in Russia. I guess the virtue of democracy is that people eventually get the government they deserve.
But the bigger picture good news is this: Russia apparently still has some semblance of a democracy! I know, I was as shocked as you. I was starting to lump Putin in with the category of 'strongarm leaders that miraculously never lose elections'. Sure, he hadn't gotten to the point of Saddam Hussein winning 100% of the vote as the only candidate on the ballot, but one assumed this was merely a matter of time. Apparently the process is still uncertain enough that popular will can actually shift results by a meaningful amount, even if not (in this case) necessarily enough to change the government.
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