An article posted in tabloid newspaper The Republic over the weekend has been dismissed by the Prime Minister’s office as “idle gossip”. In a statement this morning, the PM’s chief spokesperson said Dahn had ‘seen’ the article but had “dismissed it entirely as gossip” and brushed away its claims that she bent Coalition party rules to enable her husband, former Simininya Karasicena footballer Dmitri Alenichev, to run as a candidate in the special election in Medyn last month. Alenichev, who lost the election to former governor Stepan Michalvich, was reportedly offered the seat as part of an agreement with the Prime Minister to “keep him quiet” amidst rumours of personal troubles between the pair. The article claims Mr Alenichev was “growing increasingly annoyed at being away from [the Prime Minister]” as she battled political crises after the New Year break and was apparently considering calling time on their marriage “unless things changed”. Responding to his ultimatum and in order to keep their relationship going, Ms Dahn then apparently suggested he enter the lower house so they could work “side by side”.
But close aides and friends of the Prime Minister and her husband have taken to the media to suggest such claims are ‘ludicrous’ and ‘offensive’. One said “this is just more abuse designed to intimidate the Prime Minister into standing down. They’re trying to embarrass her. Those that know the family well, we know they are fine, that Dimi [Dmitri] is fine and that he has wanted to enter politics for a long time. It was no surprise to us.” Another commented that it was ‘low’ of the Prime Minister’s critics to turn to “attacking her personally” claiming the PM is growing increasingly desperate to ‘change the narrative’ away from her and has considered stepping down “more than once” due to the ferociousness of the criticism she has faced most recently. The most emotional appeal for the Republic to take down the story came from former Prime Minister Marina Yanaka who said she found it ‘no surprise’ that “a female politician was facing such claims which are entirely unsubstantiated. They see Asta as more vulnerable, and they criticise her for something many male colleagues haven’t thought twice about.”
Whether the Prime Minister is facing a higher level of criticism than her predecessors, including the only other woman to hold the post, Ms Yanaka, is disputed. Some suggest that Dahn is facing similar levels of political attacks as others, including Ludvig Fedorov whom she challenged for the leadership of her party back in 2017. “The Prime Minister seems to be attracting similar levels of criticism to say that of Koruin Gruaman. She’s facing a similar set of circumstances and an opposition that is fragmented including within her own party. Are there additional attacks because of her gender? I don’t think there’s any evidence of that. Just because the Prime Minister doesn’t like it, doesn’t mean she’s being unfairly treated” said one party official off the record.
Whilst The Republic has declined to comment on the sources of its initial report, its editor Arseni Valeryevich said in a statement on Sunday night that “more is to come” – provoking suspicion that the article this weekend is one in a series due to be published by the paper.
