Medvedev spoke as future PM – experts

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Published time: April 24, 2012 13:52
Edited time: April 24, 2012 17:53

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Medvedev, Politics, Putin, Russia

Dmitry Medvedev’s speech at the State Council shows he is positioning himself as future number two in Russia rather than “a lame duck,” believes political analyst Evgeny Minchenko.

Medvedev demonstrated he is not leaving after President-elect Vladimir Putin takes office, “but staying as the second most influential person in the country,” Minchenko, Director of the International Institute for Political Expertise told Interfax.

Putin had said that if he won the March 4 poll, he would nominate Medvedev for Prime Minister, who expressed readiness to accept the offer.

A day after the inauguration, on May 8, the State Duma is expected to discuss the candidates for the post of Chairman of the government. The lower house speaker, Sergey Naryshkin is confident the Medvedev-Putin tandem will continue to work together.

On Tuesday, the outgoing President addressed the session of the State Council to sum up the results of his four years in office and propose a plan for future development.

Vice-Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin observed the ideas voiced by Medvedev are pretty similar to those Putin outlined in a series presidential campaign articles. Rogozin, Moscow’s former envoy to NATO, said he personally would join Medvedev’s team in government if he is invited.

The head of Russia’s Gazprom, Aleksey Miller believes the tandem would “serve as a basement for further steady development of the country.” Speaking to journalists he noted the Medvedev-Putin tandem’s work in recent years was really useful to Russia’s economy.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the liberal Yabloko party Sergey Mitrokhin noted that as Prime Minister Medvedev would have fewer chances to develop political freedoms in Russia.

“As President he hasn’t done too much for that,” he noted. When speaking about his future initiatives, Medvedev “forgot that he would only be a Premier,” Mitrokhin said, adding that Putin’s stance on many issues is “clearly different.”

The General Director for the Center for Political Information Aleksey Mukhin agreed with other experts that Medvedev’s address on Tuesday “was a speech of future PM.” However, in the analyst’s opinion, Medvedev is worried whether his appointment to the new post would go smoothly.

“I think he believes that during his presidency he managed to find a common language with opposition parties, including in parliament. However, he is not completely sure that these parties wouldn’t hamper his appointment as Prime Minister for the sake of their party interests,” Mukhin told RIA Novosti.

Comments (1)

Lena (unregistered) 24.04.2012 17:19

The outlook appeared a bit brighter during the winter protests, when it felt like we were moving forward and it seemed as if honest and intelligent Russians would achieve their aims. But once again politicians have deceived us. Even those who used to be more easygoing and liked to say, "Relax, take life as it comes and accept the status quo," have become infected with the growing mood of despondency and now make statements ranging from "It's time to get the hell out of here" to "You just have to accept that this is life in Russia." The decision of whether to stay or leave is a personal one, and I cannot give any advice in this regard. But as for the idea of accepting the status quo, my nanosermon consists of just three words and an exclamation point: Never accept it! If you deliberately, albeit reluctantly, accommodate yourself to evil and lies, if you try to find moral justification for your own cowardice and pliancy with an obviously flawed system, you lose your self-respect. Even minor compromises and collaboration are too much. The struggle for freedom can take the form of organized political activity. If you place your trust in the opposition leaders, then by all means grab a flag and join their marches. But protest activity can also be individual, and it doesn't have to be painted in party colors to be effective. Whatever the form of the protest, the slogans should be: "No Buckling Under a Feudal System!" and "No to Crooks and Thieves!" If a convoy of official automobiles pushes through rush-hour traffic, honk your horn and shake a fist at them. If government officials overstep their authority, gather witnesses and evidence and file a claim against them with the law enforcement officials. If you are a witness to corruption, post a video of it on the Internet. We encounter corruption and lawlessness everywhere, and yet we all too often accept this behavior as a social or cultural norm. This inertia and apathy is destructive, and this is a particular pity when you consider that there are ample opportunities in Russia to organize grassroots movements. Even if it is unfamiliar and difficult at first, it always feels good. We are just trying to live our lives. But there are many millions of us, and if we are courageous and steadfast, we will overcome.

Undo