Other presidential hopefuls-Irina Hakamada and Nikolai Kharitonov-have been household names for ten years or longer, to say nothing of Sergei Mironov, parliament's upper house Speaker, and so federal No. 3. Unlike them, Malyshkin emerged in the political forestage out of sheer obscurity during the pre-election campaign, that is, a mere month before the poll, yet a million and a half voted for him, Zhirinovsky said to a Novosti news conference.
More than that, he is sure his protege would have won to the federal top if all had been given equal chances in the race. As things really were, the television gave Malyshkin a mere 7 per cent of air time, while Kharitonov and Hakamada had 10 per cent each.
Asked to comment the campaign on the whole, the Liberal Democratic leader highlighted Russian election specifics emerging-as against previous campaigns, carbon-copied from the longer-established Western patterns. As he sees it, a parliamentary system has taken shape in Russia with one ruling party and three oppositionary. According to his expectations, opposition will quite soon be left with only one party, and Russia will shift to bipartisan arrangements.
