There should be no artificially created pro-government parties in the country. Everything should follow an evolutionary path, since the Belarusian society “has no experience of existence in a multi-party system”. This was stated by Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting on the activities of political parties in the country. Alexander Lukashenko recalled that at the 6th Belarusian People’s Assembly it was decided to adopt amendments to the law “On Political Parties” in the near future, the press service reports. “I, like most of those present here, belong to the generation raised by the Communist Party, which was then the core of our society. Therefore, the collapse of the USSR and the prohibition of the Communist Party in the former Soviet republics were perceived by many as a betrayal. As a result of those upheavals at the dawn of our independence and the construction of the Belarusian statehood, we realize that it is impossible to jump from side to side. I personally came up with a formula that I still adhere to: not with the left, not with the right – with the people. My position on party building has remained unchanged: not to force anything artificially, but also not to slow down socio-political processes. They must ripen themselves, from below. There are no pro-government parties artificially created to hold on to power,” said Lukashenko. Demand in society He noted that for many years the state did not purposefully stimulate the development of political parties, but the society did not have a request for them either. “As various sociological studies show, the level of trust in existing parties is close to a statistical error. I solemnly declare, and the latest large-scale sociological studies show this – the party question excites the minds of only a small part of the politicized public in large cities.” At the same time, Lukashenko continued, Belarusians are ready to take an active part in solving various issues and this must be taken into account. He stressed that any steps in this direction should be taken according to the principle “do no harm”, since “the Belarusian society has “no real experience of existence in a multi-party system”. “Public trust and the authority of political parties cannot suddenly arise out of nowhere. This is a long-term process that has been developing in Western countries for more than one century. Therefore, we agreed that it would be wiser for us to follow an evolutionary path, taking into account our specifics and national interests, both in this and in other issues of state-building,” he noted. On Western democracy and dirty political technologies Lukashenko said that there are no ready-made recipes on the issue of party building. “Look at the stronghold of Western democracy – the party political system. We see how cheap populism and dirty political technologies are replacing party ideologies. Separate groups sometimes use parties secretly, undignifiedly in violation of all norms and principles in a political struggle to achieve their own selfish interests. We see this not only in the West, but also in the post-Soviet republics that have chosen this path. And the interests of these, often oligarchs, thank God, they do not exist in Belarus, are aimed not at the good of the country, but at open manipulation of public opinion,” Lukashenko noted. He emphasized the inadmissibility of such party-based speculations contributing to the artificial division of the Belarusian society and the loss of statehood. “Party-building should not, as happened with some of our neighbours, lead to the emergence of pocket parties of several oligarchs who push their interests. This shouldn’t happen in Belarus, and I really hope that it won’t happen,” he stressed. On Belarusian parties and their funding Lukashenko said that in party building, one must, first of all, be guided by security issues – each person, society, state. And the party should be accountable to its members, society and the state. “As president, I would like to see in political parties, if it is possible with a multi-party system, a forge of personnel. So that new people capable of taking on the burden of responsibility for the country, people with state thinking appear. And most importantly, no matter what a difference of opinion on the development of the country, the sovereignty of Belarus, the protection of the interests of the people should be an unconditional priority for all responsible political forces,” Lukashenko added. In addition, Alexander Lukashenko stressed that political activity in Belarus should not be financed from abroad. “Everyone who expects that “foreign countries will help us”, will give money for a “social lift”, for a comfortable life, should understand once and for all: once you accepted a grant, money from a foreign fund, agreed to pay for travel, some other services – immediately, de jure and de facto, you lost the right to engage in politics, to apply for government posts and elective positions in Belarus. And it must be strengthened so that this actually leads to the liquidation of such a party.” As for budget financing, then, according to Lukashenko, one should not rely on this either: “If people only find out that we will finance political parties from the budget, you know how the people will react to this.” Lukashenko noted that the law regulating the activities of political parties should ensure the solution of all issues that have already arisen and that may arise in the future.
