Duma elections - 2021: will they coax the electorate with money?

According to political scientists, this bait for the voter is not only "old as the world", but also very effective, and now is not the time to abandon it. Despite the emergence of new "covid" technologies for conducting "correct" voting. For whom the pre-election subsidies are shining, Novye Izvestia asked political analysts and authors of political telegrams from the channels.

Due to the tense economic situation, there is a feeling that no matter how much you feed your voters, everything will not be enough for them. Meanwhile, the politicians themselves, contrary to popular belief, tend to run out of money. It is not known where to get the resources to calm down the "wants" of all segments of the population. Apparently, someone will still remain hungry until change.

Dmitry Oreshkin, political scientist, leading researcher at the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

- At the expense of "handouts" to different layers of the population, you need to understand that if you give only one, then others will not appreciate it. There will be questions about why they were given this, and this was not given. This will only aggravate the situation, the general mood will only fall, and not rise due to the gratitude of individual groups. Therefore, in such a difficult time, the authorities are unlikely to spend money on this.

But are there those who can still hope for additional material support?

Ilya Grashchenkov, General Director of the Center for Regional Policy Development:

- Classically, before elections, parties try to please their electorate. For United Russia, for example, these are pensioners, large families - and they should expect some new payments. Perhaps, this time something will "pass" to the military, as in the last elections they showed some disloyalty in the regions. Of course, logically, during the campaign you should expand the circle of your voters. But some parties simply do not have the money for this. Others are more likely to take the risk and spend better on those who already support them. For example, pensioners can "run across" to the communists, so they need to be fed. But I don’t think that someone will dare to direct the budget to students or single people, and business, as we can see, is not enough for business. The politicians definitely have no money for it.

Alexander Kynev, political scientist:

- Traditionally, the authorities postpone actions related to helping citizens before elections. The history is old and proven, moreover, not only in our country, but around the world. This year, amid a pandemic, the authorities paid the most attention to families with children. And the victims were pensioners who were blocked by social cards. I would like to note that families with a large number of children are a certain social type. There is a direct correlation: the higher education and income, the fewer children in the family. Since people invest not in quantity, but in quality. Apparently, there was a calculation that families had been given "handouts" for so many years, so it is logical to help those in whom you have already invested. Purely psychology: if you have already helped, and then stopped, then there will be more discontent than if you did not help at all. It is more interesting how people over 65 will compensate for the offense. Will the pensions be increased? We will see. The authorities have not yet closed the constitutional social amendments, which have been adopted, and the laws on them are not only not implemented, but not even written.

Political telegram - channel "Meister":

- Let's get away from the elections a little. Last year, in the midst of a pandemic, the state provided active support to citizens. Putin's payments to children, preferential mortgage programs, business support programs, and so on. This was done both before the vote on amendments and after. We have not seen such large-scale support programs, probably never in the history of modern Russia. Obviously, it was the coronavirus factor that was decisive here. It has not gone anywhere, which means that support measures will be prolonged and developed.

Anatoly Spirin, the author of the political telegrams of the channel "AS IS THIS IS":

- For "ordinary" elections, including the Duma, hardly anything will be allocated additionally: the technology has already been worked out, in contrast to last year's plebiscite, when it was necessary to adjust the mood of the electorate. Taking into account the stake on volunteers and activists, short-term "assistance programs" with food packages and assistance in the form of repairing the roof are more likely possible, but this will be on the shoulders of candidates and regional authorities. There may not be enough money for continuous support measures.

So, according to the experts, you can hope for additional payments, but you should not count on. It is likely that in the context of the pandemic and the growing economic crisis, if there are monetary incentives for the electorate, then you will not particularly roam on them.