Moscow. (RIA Novosti political commentator Yury Filippov). The campaign for the December 4th elections to the Moscow City Duma has been besieged by one intrigue after another.

As any dignified European capital, Moscow has respectable centrists, aggressive nationalistic minorities, and adamant critics of the authorities from the left and the right of the political spectrum. In the meantime the authorities are locked in mortal combat for leadership. The Moscow election campaign has revealed all of this. As a result, analysts forecast unprecedented attendance at polling stations - up to 50%. This is a very high figure for regional elections. By law, half of this number is enough to make the elections valid.

At first the Muscovites witnessed a scandal involving the Rodina nationalist party. Its leader Dmitry Rogozin and Yury Popov, number one on the Moscow election list, took part in a commercial, in which they attempt to teach good manners to people from Central Asia or the Caucasus, throwing garbage on Moscow sidewalks. After this commercial was shown on Moscow television, Rodina was removed from the election campaign for fuelling inter-ethnic strife.

Ironically, the claim against Rodina was lodged by Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who was an ardent ultra-nationalist just a short time ago. He heads the Liberal Democratic Party, which also takes part in the Moscow elections, but this time under humanitarian slogans: "Everything! For Everyone! Always!" Like many other of his slogans, these have little to do with real life, and scare some people off. But others like them and see them as an instrument of turning dull politics into a show.

Strange as it may seem, Rodina was backed by Gennady Zyuganov, the Communist Party leader who has been an ideologically correct internationalist until now. He said that the authorities had taken a rash decision by barring Rodina from elections. But according to sociological polls, Zyuganov is only supported by 10% of the Muscovites, and his voice sounded rather quiet.

Now Rodina is waiting for the Supreme Court to return it to the election list. Party activists have organized several pickets, and are collecting signatures in its defense in the streets and on-line in the hope that the unfolding scandal will add to their popularity.

The authorities are worried about the situation. Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov says: " What Rodina is doing is dangerous." Indeed, a show-down between Muscovites and immigrants is the last thing Moscow needs with its population of 10 million people of different ethnic origins, not to mention another three million illegal migrants (as experts estimate) from all corners of the former U.S.S.R.

The situation is saved by the fact that the majority of Muscovites are not overly preoccupied with the subject. Even the most favorable forecasts do not promise Rodina more than 15% at the Moscow elections, provided, of course, it is reinstated by the Supreme Court.

The pro-presidential United Russia is the front-runner in the election race. Sociologists predict that it will receive half of all votes in Moscow.

But intrigue has reached their ranks as well. It is not ruled out that the election forecast will have to be changed now that the United Russia Moscow activists Vladimir Platonov and Andrey Metelsky (the former is the Duma Chairman, and the latter heads an influential Duma committee) have declared that their Party will nominate Yury Luzhkov to run for the seat of the Moscow Mayor in 2007. Although Luzhkov has held this post for over 13 years now, and some believe it's time for him to leave, he still enjoys tremendous popularity in Moscow, and many are not happy about his intention to retire in two years.

Three conditions have to be observed for Luzhkov to celebrate his 20 years as the Moscow Mayor in 2012. First, the parties, which win regional elections, should be allowed by law to nominate their candidates to the position of regional leaders. President Vladimir Putin himself came up with this initiative last spring. It will be easy to implement: the United Russia-dominated Federal Assembly should adopt a relevant law, which the President will sign.

The second condition is also undemanding: Luzhkov, who has promised to leave in 2007, should be persuaded to take his word back.

Finally, the third condition: the United Russia must win the Moscow parliamentary elections. This is not only possible but inevitable. In Moscow the United Russia left all rivals behind in the national parliamentary elections in 1999 and 2003. Running together with Luzhkov in 2005, it may win by a landslide.

Strictly speaking, there is a fourth condition: unity in the city party organization has to be preserved and the belief that Luzhkov is still the best candidate for Mayor maintained. This may not happen, and new charismatic leaders will emerge, in which case the election promise of the United Russia will have to be forgotten. But let's leave this intrigue to the future.

A 10 million-strong European megapolis with the highest concentration of politicians and their parties, Moscow is getting ready for regional parliamentary elections. It was the venue of a democratic revolution just several years ago, and saw attempts at coup d'etat in 1991 and 1993. The upcoming elections will be a dress rehearsal of the federal parliamentary and presidential elections in 2007-2008. It seems the alignment of political forces in Russia will not undergo a major change in the near future.