Wang Ye's proposal had clearly caught Gryzlov off guard. He froze there, unable to react for quite a while.
Zhirinov, on the other hand, smiled and voiced his agreement.
"Yes, with the election these past few months, all of Moscow has been thrown into chaos. I can see that many people haven't been focusing on their work.
At a time like this, stability is the most important thing!
An institution as important as the Duma must have a highly respected person at the helm to keep it under control.
Mikhail was originally supposed to take over as Speaker, and that would have been fine. But circumstances changed. He is now running in the election, which leaves the Speaker's seat vacant again.
No matter how you look at it, Gryzlov, you are the best candidate for Speaker—bar none!"
He was making his position clear as well, meaning that he supported Gryzlov continuing as Speaker.
With both his and Wang Ye's support, Gryzlov remaining Speaker was practically a done deal—unless he himself was unwilling.
But would he be unwilling...
Of course Gryzlov was willing!
The only reason he had previously talked about retiring was that the Silovik Group's influence in the Duma had shrunk again and again. He could no longer secure enough support within his own faction, and in his disheartenment, he had considered retirement.
Of course, even if he had not retired, he definitely could not have competed with Wang Ye.
But things were different now. Wang Ye would no longer compete for the Duma Speaker's seat. Instead, he was turning around to run in the election and take over the Kremlin, and he had clearly stated that he would support Gryzlov's continued tenure as Duma Speaker.
How could he possibly be unwilling!
So before Zhirinov had even finished speaking,