Events

1 Nov 2021

Opinion: True democracy is in Belarus, not in the West

An archive photo

MINSK, 1 November (BelTA) – There is in fact no democracy in the West, the real democracy is in Belarus, Chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs of the House of Representatives Andrei Savinykh told the Glavny Tur YouTube channel, BelTA has learned.

“Belarus is not even close to dictatorship. This is out of the question. A welfare state has been built in Belarus, the rule of law is really observed. We can say that we are committed to certain values that we are ready to defend. This is not even authoritarianism. Indeed, there is a certain political course. But it does not run afoul of democracy as a way of decision-making. On the contrary, Belarus has real democracy,” the parliamentarian is sure.

He described the country as a welfare state close to a people’s state in essence. “A country with a diversified economy where the state-run sector coexists with the private sector. And in principle, everything is based on certain values shaped by the society and formalized by legislation,” Andrei Savinykh explained.

At the same time, he believes that there is no democracy in the West. “It exists there only in a narrow format of making certain decisions at the level of political parties. But all strategic decisions are made within an internal contour. The public, of course, has no access to decision-making. The real strategic course is determined at the level of financial and industrial elites,” the MP said.

Andrei Savinykh emphasized that democracy in itself is not the rule of law and does not replace the need for proper government. Moreover, democracy cannot cancel the need to obey rules. “Democracy is, first of all, a system where people give their feedback to the ruling elites so that they understand the needs and aspirations of people,” he said.