Chapter Ninety-Nine: Succession
With Suslov's death, a battle for power has quietly begun in the ZZ bureau. Because www.biquge.info Suslov has been responsible for many important party and state affairs all the year round, coupled with the advantages of qualifications and ability, he has always been the number two person in the CPSU, and at this time, President Bo's health began to have various problems. Therefore, the vacant position in the ZZ bureau at this time is particularly tempting.
At present, there are still 13 members of the ZZ bureau in office, and they are considering the future of the party and the country, and the candidates for this position must have a certain level of qualifications to serve the public, and they must also have a certain ability to take on Suslov's original work. From the current members of the ZZ bureau, Chernenko and Andropov are undoubtedly the most suitable candidates.
But the question of who will go up and down between the two candidates is not a simple question. If Andropov, who has been the chairman of the KGB for many years, is naturally better because of his ability, but his political position is biased towards reform, which reminds everyone of the original Khrushchev, reform means that the interests of some people will be reduced and abolished, Khrushchev did this back then, is the end...... Hehe!
Chernenko, on the other hand, has been strongly praised by Mr. Bo's cronies, who have been the big steward of the Dnepetrovsk gang for so many years, and his ability is naturally not to be mentioned, and he has worked in the field of party affairs and ideology for a long time, so he can be said to be a professional counterpart. However, Chernenko has just been added to the Politburo, and he has not yet made any outstanding achievements in this position, so he rashly elevates him to the position of successor, but I am afraid that it will be difficult to convince the public.
The above entanglements made it difficult for the 13 members of the ZZ Bureau to make a final decision, and everyone was unable to reach a unified opinion for a long time. However, Suslov's state and party affairs could not be taken over by no one, so the voting meeting had to continue. In this small small conference room, almost everyone was frowning, weighing their own interests, which made Mr. Bo feel a big headache.
Since Bo is always the supreme leader, he cannot express any opinion in this vote, otherwise it will violate the spirit of the collective vote. As candidates, Chernenko and Andropov are also inconvenient to participate in it, all they can do is silently wait for the results to come, although the faces of the two are as usual, but there are already turbulent waves in their hearts.
The twelve members of the ZZ Bureau who have the right to vote have no good way at the moment, there have been two rounds of secret balloting, each time it is a result of six to six, the two forces of reformers and conservatives are always evenly matched, no one is willing and impossible to take a step back, and the long voting seems to never see the end,
"Why don't we submit it to a collective vote of the Central Committee of the Supreme Soviet?" Last year's new member of the ZZ Bureau, Romanov, secretary of the Leningrad First City Committee, suddenly raised his hand and suggested that he really couldn't stand the lifeless atmosphere here.
"No, this is just a matter of division of labor within our ZZ Bureau, and it has not risen to the point of getting a collective vote of the Central Committee of the Supreme Soviet!" Foreign Minister Gromyko immediately objected, and the scene fell silent again.
"Why don't we ask the two comrades to share some views on the work that Su Lao has undertaken! After all, no matter who is in charge of Su Lao's work in the future, they will all pick up this heavy burden! I propose that Chernenko say first, after all, he has been in charge of ideology and has some experience in this area! The chairman of the Joint Council of Ministers, Tikhonov, suddenly proposed, deliberately emphasizing Chernenko's experience in ideology, if nothing else, just because he himself is part of the Dnepropetrovsk gang, and for the common good of everyone, he must help Chernenko take Suslov's position.
Chernenko looked at Tikhonov with gratitude, and then glanced at the other committee members with some eagerness, hoping that someone would speak out in support of Tikhonov's proposal.
"Let's do it!" Andropov suddenly spoke. His approval surprised everyone, and Tikhonov's suggestion was clearly ill-intentioned, since Chernenko had extensive experience in party affairs and ideology, and Andropov had no advantage in this.
Chernenko couldn't help but feel a burst of excitement when he heard someone praise him, but the person who agreed was actually Andropov, which made Chernenko wonder what the hell the other party was doing.
Chernenko walked to the podium and looked at the members present, knowing that success or failure was here, he thought about it a little and began his speech: "Comrades, I personally have some views on the future direction of our party's work in the ideological and propaganda fields, and I would like to share with you here today. Beginning to oppose my cause, against our socialist camp, I think ......"
Chernenko's eloquence was very good, and he spoke about the issue of Solidarity not only in Poland, but also in the domestic ideological situation in some other countries of the socialist camp.
Remembering the applause, Chernenko stepped down from the podium, and he signaled to Andropov that it was your turn, and Andropov clapped and smiled in return, as if he didn't care.
Andropov stood up and walked to the podium, the venue suddenly fell silent again, everyone wanted to hear what else Andropov had to say with Chernenko's Jin Yu in front, after all, it was his duty to be in charge of domestic and foreign security, and as for the field of ideology and propaganda, Andropov was a layman.
"Comrade Chernenko said very well, and it did reflect some problems, and I also agree with some of his views. However, Chernenko blames most of the reason for the agitation of the Western forces, and I do not fully agree with this, as it is well known that our newspapers and radio stations have always been firmly in the hands of the party, and even if the hostile Western forces are agitating hard, their influence is limited. Comrades, shouldn't we look to ourselves for the reason? Andropov suddenly said earnestly, making everyone present a little puzzled, what the hell was he going to do.
"Last year's economic data has come out, and I won't mention how bleak it was, not only last year, but also the year before last. Our industry has not developed for several years, and the agricultural output is not as good as it is every year, I don't know if you have ever gone to the street to see our shops, every day the people have to wait in a long line for an hour to buy the goods they need, and what about our cadres? They can go to their own special stores to buy what they need, and some of them are even foreign luxury goods that we have spent precious foreign exchange to buy, so to speak, our cadres and the masses are living two different lives! ”
Andropov's merciless speech made everyone present sit on pins and needles, and everyone secretly looked at Mr. Bo's expression, and couldn't help but be shocked, Mr. Bo's face had never been as ugly as today.