Addressing the delegates of his Otan party, President Nursultan Nazarbayev welcomed the decision about the merger between Asar and Otan as an important step towards the “consolidation of society”. On the surface it looks like a marriage of equals. Asar appeared on the political scene in the run-up to parliamentary election of 2004 and gained enormous popularity primarily due to the personal sway of the presidential daughter over regional governors, and administrative resources. As a member of parliament, Dariga Nazarbayeva surprised many with her ardent zeal for democratic reforms. Asar demanded the establishment of public control over the activities of local akims (governors) and transparency of the deals concluded with foreign companies to reduce the scale of corruption. All these carefully worded slogans struck the right cord with popular sentiments and gained new members for the Asar party. In one of her last popular gambits in parliament, Dariga Nazarbayeva sharply criticized government-initiated restrictive amendments to the media law which were ultimately adopted by parliament and endorsed by the president.

Nearly on all key issues of political development of society, Asar and Otan adopted diametrically opposing stances. All the more surprising is the newly formed symbiosis between the two parties. It is clear, however, that the ruling Otan party will get a chance to monopolize political power to strengthen presidential governance. The merger with Asar wins 700,000 party members rallied under the banner of Otan, led by Nursultan Nazarbayev. For Otan, the new alliance is an unquestionable advantage, while the political future of Asar, and that of Dariga Nazarbayeva herself , remains in limbo. Some analysts suspect that the daughter of the president may be gradually ousted from political life by invisible string-pullers in the intense power struggle in the top echelons of the system. The clear signs of the cloud gathering over Dariga Nazarbayeva and her husband Rakhat Aliyev came after the unraveling of the killing of opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbayev, when opponents insinuated that Aliyev had a hand in the killing. The newly appointed information minister, Yermukhambet Yertysbayev, tried to put under his control the Khabar television channel patronized by Dariga Nazarbayeva.

Political opponents of the ruling Otan party circulated persistent rumors about the planned dissolution of parliament by presidential decree this autumn and re-election of parliament members. However, it is unlikely that the president will dissolve the docile parliament in which pro-government parties enjoy an absolute majority. With the merger with Otan, Dariga Nazarbayeva may lose her seat in the majilis (lower house of parliament), which, however, will not harm the political influence of the pro-presidential majority in parliament. At the same time, some members of Asar may join the ranks of the Ak Zhol (Bright Path) party, their former opponents in the last parliamentary election. To some degree, that would strengthen the liberal-democratic movement which suffered a severe blow during the 2004 parliamentary election, but opposition to the presidential power will never be the same as it was before the election.

The public opinion survey conducted by the Center of Social Technologies prior to the merger of Otan and Asar shows that the presidential Otan party enjoys considerable public confidence and the support of 25.5 percent of the population, while Asar and the liberal-democratic Nagyz Ak Zhol (True Bright Path) are supported by 16.9 and 16.8 percent of the potential electorate, respectively. These statistics may vary from region to region, but it is undeniable that the massive propaganda campaign carried out since the election produced a positive effect and boosted public confidence in presidential power. Surveys show that 51.8 percent of the urban population supports the measures taken by Nazarbayev to stabilize the political and social situation in the country.

The merger of Asar and Otan comes at a time when opposition forces are irreparably weakened by internal strife and disarray. Otan effectively eliminated all its opponents in its strive for unrivalled dominance of the political scene. The last nail in the coffin of Asar was driven by its leader Dariga Nazarbaeva, who at the last conference of the party called all party members to support the merger with Otan. But the rising inflation rate, the lack of adequate housing for a large section of the low-income population, abuse of power and widespread corruption in government offices and other social ills demand something more than just the ideological support from a loyal party.