'Mad Vlad' bounces back in Russian elections

The court jester of Russian politics, Vladimir Zhirinovksy, led his nationalist party to a surprisingly strong comeback in the parliamentary elections with his unique mix of bad-boy behaviour, populist politicking – and support for the Kremlin.

Zhirinovsky’s misnamed Liberal Democratic Party more than doubled its share of the votes compared to the 1999 election, according to preliminary results.

As the ballot counting continued today, the party was in third race behind the Communists and the election’s biggest winner, United Russia.

“I am speaking in the name of millions,” Zhirinovsky declared on TV, poking the air with his finger and looking every bit the attention-grabber in a bright red shirt and loud tie. “The voters spoke …. And if you don’t like it, then leave.”

The flamboyant leader – who once advocated retaking Alaska, suggested polygamy as a way to solve Russia’s population decline and never hesitated to throw a punch when angry – shocked the world in 1993 by capturing nearly a quarter of the national vote in parliamentary elections.

Zhirinovsky’s main platform was to rebuild the Russian empire and end Moscow’s flirtation with the United States.

But Zhirinovsky proved more talk than action and largely supported former President Boris Yeltsin, alienating his supporters who by 1999 had largely abandoned him, giving him only 6% of the vote.

Similarly, in the outgoing Duma, Zhirinovsky’s party almost always voted the Kremlin line despite his fiery statements.

Leonid Sedov, a senior analyst at the independent polling agency VTsIOM-A, likened Zhirinovsky to “Putin in a crooked mirror.”

Both rely on similar themes for their popularity – restoring order, Russia’s greatness – but Zhirinovsky states them in a different, less-generally acceptable way. That earns him an almost permanent spot on televised political round tables. His outbursts always make the nightly news, making him stand out from a field crowded with colourless, bureaucratic candidates.

In the largely lacklustre campaign season, Zhirinovsky provided one of the few sparks – accusing a general of sending his own son to death in Chechnya, thus setting off a brawl at the end of a political talk show. It was the second time during the election that Zhirinovsky was accused of starting a fight.

On election day, Zhirinovsky touched off another ruckus, after getting into an argument with election officials and bystanders at a Moscow polling station.

“Get out of here!” Zhirinovsky hollered at a woman who scolded him for his behaviour. “She is crazy! Show me a note from your psychiatrist!”

The 57-year-old – dubbed Mad Vlad by friends and enemies – derives most of his popularity from Russians fed up with a system they blame for keeping them impoverished while enriching some of their countrymen after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Zhirinovsky frequently lashes out at the so-called oligarchs, a theme he repeated after the election criticising his “Mercedes-driving” compatriots.

But among those that revere Putin, Zhirinovsky treads carefully.

He told state TV that he anticipated a “constructive relationship” with the pro-Kremlin United Russia, suggesting that they were the perfect partners for his nationalist party.