The news concerning the presidential candidate Dmitry Medvedev has made a big splash in the business community. Medvedev, widely seen as President Putin's nominee and successor, said that he would ask his current boss to be his Prime Minister should he be elected.
Since all of Vladimir Putin's recent answers, aptly quoted by the Kommersant daily, point out that there is no reason to believe that Putin will refuse the offer, the proposition seems like a real eye-opener to many observers. What if Putin really agrees to become Medvedev's Prime Minister? What if he really refuses to change the Constitution? What if he is ready to give up his presidential powers? To the hordes of political scientists, analysts, journalists, professional politicians and members of the opposition the answers to these questions might shatter their whole world view so there will be no lack of commentary on this matter in the coming days. Some will say that this is yet another cunning move, some will forecast Putin's demise, some will dub this a multi-step move meant to confuse everyone even more, some will doubt that Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov will easily agree to give up on his own presidential (or head of the government) ambitions and some will hail this decision as unexpected but exciting. I just have several odd thoughts on the matter.
One: If Putin officially accepts Medvedev's offer and does it before the election and if the Medvedev-Putin ticket wins the presidential election in March, we might be looking at the birth of a new electoral system. This is not a parliamentary republic where the Prime Minister is nominated by the parliamentary majority. This is an election with two people on one ticket, only instead of the President and the Vice President we will have the President and the Prime Minister. And this is a wonderful idea, I think. Tell me who is your Prime Minister and I will tell you what kind of a President you are. Putin's own eight years in power showed that a lot of election-time promises and state-of-the-nation-address plans smash against the government's inability or fearfulness. The country's President cannot oversee everything by himself, he needs a team. And during the election campaign the presidential candidates should show the voters who will be on their team. This is honest campaigning, and if next year's election sets the trend, we'll be one little step closer to the democracy that everyone's missing so much.
Two: I am not the first to write about this (especially, considering that you are reading this on Friday), but I would agree that Vladimir Putin will be in his place being a Prime Minister. Throughout these eight years watching the meetings between the President and the Prime Minister I was always getting a feeling that Putin thought he could do a better job heading the government. And the fact that he seems to be ready to agree to this role says a lot. Vladimir Putin cannot but understand that the government is saddled with all the blame for failed economic reforms and policies and his readiness to take this position says that he is confident that his efforts will be successful.
Three: I have had several arguments with people who see Vladimir Putin as the sinister figure of Russian politics. I have begged them to see that Putin is no devil as he is no angel, that he is a regular person who ended up with all of this power. If my hopes are right and Vladimir Putin becomes a Prime Minister under President Medvedev (if Medvedev wins the presidential elections, and there is little reason to doubt that at the moment) and if he actually works to make good on the points that he had made in his recent talk with the leaders of the Russian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (in particular, promising "no state capitalism" and "no dependence on oil and gas industry"), that outcome will prove that our current President is a decent person. As decent as any politician might be. And that, I think, is very important.
By Marina Pustilnik
Poll: Do you think President Vladimir Putin was right to back Dmitry Medvedev's nomination for presidency?
