World has changed due to pandemic, there is no going back, ex-PM Medvedev says

MOSCOW, May 19. /TASS/. The United Russia political party must react to changes caused by the pandemic to retain its role as the leading political force in Russia, party chairman and Deputy Head of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said during an online meeting with the PolitStartup HR project members. He proposed to conduct a separate meeting shortly to discuss the proposals on amendments to the party’s electoral platform and its approaches to various issues, put forth amid the changed circumstances. The party chairman underscored that ideological changes are certainly needed. "The world has changed and there will certainly be no turning back to the previous state; we will have to react to all this properly, and if we manage this, we will be able to stay the leading political force," Medvedev believes. He added that "this is only the beginning" and that there are lessons to be learned from the current state of affairs. Commenting on participation of volunteers, non-profits and other activists in the United Russia’s work on provision of aid to the citizens and the businesses amid the pandemic, Medvedev noted that it is important for the party to "keep these people" and to "not squander everything that has been achieved recently." According to Medvedev, these people have contacted the party in a bid to help and not for a political career. "This is, probably, the most valuable political capital that we could accumulate during this period," the chairman said. According to Medvedev, such work has been established only by the United Russia, although there are other political organizations with long history and big assets. "But they did not do this," he noted. Read more