Putin urges United Russia to do its best at parliamentary elections

Russian Prime Minister on Thursday urged members of the ruling United Russia party to obtain maximum results at the December 4 parliamentary elections. “What’s now going on [in the countries of] our European friends and U.S. partners [the economic situation there] results from the lack of consensus in their societies, when political leaders can’t join forces and work together,” Putin said at a meeting with the top brass of United Russia. “I hope this situation will not occur in our country. That's why there's a necessity to obtain maximum results at these elections,” Putin went on, adding that if United Russia loses its influence in parliament and the decisions it makes, the country will find itself in a situation similar to that of Europe and the United States. The prime minister outlined the core principles that United Russia fraction must follow in the new parliament; social-oriented decisions, shrewd budget policy and broad public discussions on key bills. On Wednesday, Putin called on the opposition to "behave calmly" and not create obstacles for the ruling party to govern. United Russia's ratings have slumped in recent months. A public poll earlier this month showed that 40 percent of respondents planned to vote for United Russia - down from over 60 percent last month. United Russia will nominate Putin as its candidate for president on November 27, a party official said on Saturday. In 2008, Putin was barred by the constitution from seeking a third consecutive term of office and became prime minister after his hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, was elected president.