Chapter 99 Successor Candidates
With the death of Suslov, a battle for power has quietly started in ZZ Bureau. Because Suslov has been in charge of many important party and state affairs all year round, coupled with his advantages in qualifications and abilities, he has always been the actual number two figure in the CPSU. At this time, President Bo's body also began to appear. All kinds of questions. Therefore, the position vacated in the ZZ game at this time is particularly attractive.
There are still thirteen committee members in the ZZ Bureau, considering the future of the party and the country. The candidates for this position must not only have certain qualifications to convince the public, but also have certain abilities to take on Suslov’s original mission. Work. From the perspective of the existing members of the ZZ Bureau, Chernenko and Andropov are undoubtedly the most suitable candidates.
But it is not a simple question which of the two candidates will go up and who will go down. In terms of ability, Andropov, who has been the chairman of the KGB for many years, is naturally better, but his political stance is biased towards reform, which reminds everyone of the original Khrushchev. Reform means It will reduce and cancel the interests of some people. Khrushchev did this in the past. Is it the end... Ha ha!
On the other hand, Chernenko has been highly praised by President Bo's cronies. Chernenko has been the big steward of the Dnipetrovsk gang for so many years. The field can be said to be a professional counterpart. But Chernenko had just been added to the Politburo, and he hadn't made any outstanding achievements in this position. It would be difficult to convince the public if he was rashly promoted to the position of successor.
All the above entanglements made it difficult for the thirteen committee members in the ZZ Bureau to make a final decision, and everyone was unable to reach a unified opinion for a long time. However, the state affairs and party affairs work in Suslov's hands cannot be left alone, so the voting meeting will continue. In this small meeting room, almost everyone was frowning, weighing their own interests, and this situation gave Mr. Bo a great headache.
Since Bo is always the supreme leader, he cannot express any opinions in this vote, otherwise it will violate the spirit of collective voting. As candidates, Chernenko and Andropov were also inconvenient to participate. All they could do was wait for the result silently.
The twelve members of the ZZ Bureau who have the right to vote have nothing to do at this moment. There have been two rounds of secret ballots, and each time the result is six to six. The two forces of the reformist and the conservative are always evenly matched. Everyone is unwilling and impossible to give in. The long voting seems to never see an end.
"Why don't we submit it to the Central Committee of the Supreme Soviet for a collective vote?" Romanov, the secretary of the First Leningrad City Party Committee, a new member of the ZZ Bureau last year, suddenly raised his hand and suggested that he really couldn't stand the dead atmosphere here.
"No, it's just a matter of division of labor within our ZZ Bureau, and it's not up to the point of getting a collective vote from the Central Committee of the Supreme Soviet!" Foreign Minister Gromyko immediately objected, and the scene once again fell into silence. middle.
"Why don't we ask the two comrades to share some opinions on the work that Mr. Su is responsible for? After all, no matter who they are in charge of Mr. Su's work in the future, they must shoulder this heavy burden! I suggest that Qier Nianke said first, after all, he has been in charge of ideology work before, and he has certain work experience in this area!" Tikhonov, chairman of the joint ministerial meeting, suddenly suggested, and he deliberately emphasized the importance of ideology. Chernenko's work experience in ideology is not for anything else, because he is also a member of the Dnepropetrovsk gang. For the common interests of everyone, he must help Chernenko win the Suss Love's location.
Chernenko looked at Tikhonov with grateful eyes, and then looked eagerly at the other committee members, hoping that someone would support Tikhonov's suggestion.
"Let's do it!" Andropov said suddenly. His approval surprised everyone. Tikhonov's suggestion just now was obviously malicious. After all, Chernenko has rich experience in party affairs and ideology. On this point, Andropov There is no advantage.
Chernenko couldn't help feeling excited for a while when he heard someone praise him, but the person who agreed was actually Andropov, which made Chernenko not sure what the hell the other party was doing.
Chernenko walked up to the podium and looked at all the committee members present. He knew that success or failure depended on one move, and after a little deliberation, he began his speech: "Comrades, regarding the future work of our party in the field of ideology and propaganda, Direction, I personally have some views to share with you today. As we all know, in recent years, some so-called labor movements have broken out in some of our neighboring countries. They deny the superiority of the socialist system and lose their faith. At the instigation of some Western countries, they began to oppose my cause and become enemies of our socialist camp, I think..."
Chernenko's eloquence is very good, and what he said is well-founded. He not only talked about the Solidarity trade union in Poland, but also talked about the domestic ideological situation in some other countries in the socialist camp. Those who do not support him have to admit that Chernenko does have unique insights in this regard.
As the applause came to mind, Chernenko stepped off the podium, and he signaled to Andropov that it was your turn, and Andropov smiled as he applauded, as if he didn't care.
Andropov stood up and walked to the podium. The venue fell silent again. Everyone wanted to hear what else Andropov could say with Chernenko's gold and jade in front of him. After all, It was his responsibility to be responsible for security work at home and abroad. As for ideology and propaganda, Andropov was a layman.
"Comrade Chernenko's speech is very good, and it does reflect some problems. I also agree with some of his views. After listening to his introduction, I really feel that there is a feeling of interlacing. However, Chernenko Ke attributed most of the reasons to the instigation of Western forces, but I do not fully agree with this point. As we all know, our newspapers and radio stations have always been firmly in the hands of the party. Even if the agitation of Western hostile forces is working hard, their influence is also Limited. Comrades, shouldn’t we look for the reason from ourselves?” Andropov suddenly said earnestly, making everyone present a little puzzled as to what he was trying to do.
"Last year's economic data has come out. I won't mention how bleak it is. Not only last year, but also the year before last. Our industry has not developed for several years, and the agricultural output has been declining year by year. I don't think so. I know if you have taken a look at our store on the street. Every day, ordinary people have to wait in a long line for an hour to buy the goods they need. What about our cadres? They can go to their own special stores to buy their own products. Some of the things we need, some of which are even foreign luxuries that we spend our precious foreign exchange on, it can be said that our cadres and the masses are living completely different lives!"
Andropov's ruthless speech made everyone present feel as if they were on pins and needles. Everyone secretly looked at Mr. Bo's expression, and couldn't help being surprised. Mr. Bo's face had never been so ugly as it is today.