The successor invited Putin to be prime minister. Is the West ＂disappointed＂ with Russia’s future？
Russian President Vladimir Putin was invited to be the next prime minister of the government on the 11th. Medvedev, the first deputy prime minister of Russia, who was just chosen by Putin the day before, suddenly announced this statement on TV on the 11th, and two messages "deciding Russia’s fate" were released one after another within 24 hours, causing a sensation all over the world. Agence France-Presse said that this statement means that Russia seems to have solved two major problems facing the country: who will replace Putin in the general election on March 2 next year and what Putin will do after leaving office. However, because there is no precedent in Russian history that "the power of the prime minister is greater than that of the president", the future relationship between the Russian president and the prime minister will be continuously concerned.
According to Russian media reports, the United Russia Party, the Just Russia Party, the Russian Agricultural Party and the Citizen Power Party jointly nominated First Deputy Prime Minister Medvedev as the next presidential candidate. Putin expressed "full agreement" with this proposal when he met with the leaders of the four parties on December 10. This is a photo of Putin (former) and Medvedev visiting a construction site in central Russia on September 13, 2007. Xinhua News Agency/Reuters
Finally, the "mystery" was finally revealed.
According to the Itar-Tass news agency, after being elected as the presidential candidate by four parties, including the Russian United Russia Party, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Medvedev officially delivered a speech on the news channel of Russian national television on the 11th. Medvedev said that he himself was ready to be elected president, and at the same time, he asked Putin to take the post of Russian Prime Minister after that. Medvedev said in a live TV broadcast: "In order to ensure the continuity of the current policy, it is not enough for Russia to elect a new president. More importantly, it should retain the high efficiency of the current presidential team." He said, "I think it is very important for our country to let Putin be the head of the government of the Russian Federation. It is precisely because Putin led the United Russia Dangshen to participate in the parliamentary elections held not long ago that the party won a major victory. In the future, only under the leadership of Putin can the Russian government work efficiently. "
The news that "Medvedev invited Putin to be the prime minister of Russia" immediately became the news that the major western media rushed to report at the first time. After expressing surprise at this news, the west quickly turned its focus to guessing which of the Russian presidents and prime ministers will have more power in the future. When broadcasting this news, CBS television in the United States raised questions, and it was "an open question" how much power Medvedev had if Putin became the Russian prime minister. Agence France-Presse said that after Medvedev said that Putin should be the Russian prime minister, the uncertainty about Russia’s future power structure for several months has ended. Medvedev’s appeal means that Putin will become a strong prime minister next year. However, it is still unclear how much power Putin will have as prime minister. According to the Russian Constitution, the power of the Prime Minister is much less than that of the President. Web analytics of LA Times said that Putin had asked his chosen successor to invite him to be the prime minister, which showed his strong desire to become a person with real power, and Putin’s supporters also called on him to become a "national leader" with real power.
Web analytics, the Financial Times, said that this choice shows that Russia will continue the development path initiated by Putin. The report even continued to speculate on the possibility of Putin’s re-election as president. It is reported that Medvedev may step down early in order to let Putin return to power, which is allowed by the Russian Constitution. The analysis quoted opposition politician ryzhkov as saying: "If Putin wants to come back in two or three years, Medvedev will be the one who will not hesitate to give way."
Will Putin accept the post of Prime Minister?
In Russia, many political analysts think that Medvedev invited Putin to be prime minister, which is completely unexpected. Nikonov, chairman of the Russian "Political" Foundation, said that Medvedev’s idea was not impromptu, but the result of compromise. He believes that this result is not unexpected. Many Russian politicians have thought of similar plans before. He said that since Medvedev proposed this plan, it basically means that it will be realized, and Putin will become prime minister in the next four years.
Markov, a famous Russian political scientist, also expressed the same view, but he also cautiously stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not made it clear whether he agrees to become prime minister.
Many experts believe that the day after Putin was appointed as his successor, Medvedev made a high-profile announcement that he hoped to become the prime minister after Putin’s term expired. There are two main considerations behind it: First, Putin has always had unshakable public support in Russia so far and is regarded as the biggest stabilizer in Russian politics. If Putin can become prime minister, it can obviously ensure the sustainable and stable policies during his two terms of office, thus ensuring the development of Russia and the well-being of ordinary people. Second, Medvedev, after all, does not have enough social prestige, which can also be regarded as part of his election strategy. With the help of Putin’s golden signboard, he can win more support. Russian oil and gas network commented that Russian voters now have no other chance to keep Putin except to elect Medvedev as president. Medvedev urged Putin to be the new prime minister, not simply to reciprocate, but to swear allegiance to Putin.
Editor: Li Xiuwei