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Thursday, 04.10.2007
Putin to head United Russia list, and then become Prime Minister
Moscow. It was hardly a surprise when Putin declared he would head the United Russia party list, and then consider becoming Prime Minister under another president.
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Putin has worked for a while now to promote a whole field of different leadership figures. It probably no longer matters to him now who actually becomes President, as long as the new President comes from the Putin clique.
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Putin, it seems, is trying to wean the country from the political one-dimensionality that is its reputation. To do this, he has launched a ‘reality TV’ show where various potential political leaders have the chance to show what they can do. It’s something like a "Stars Factory", producing new faces.
Putin’s reality TV produces potential political leaders
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Recently, almost every week has seen new faces or new ideas appear on Russia’s TV screens. All newcomers got a boost in their ratings by being apparently considered as a future president – which is not the same as saying that they were actually being considered.
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It only means that they contribute to the diversification of the political elite. Everyone who belongs to the team gets his or her chance. And all audience preferences are also catered for.
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It is a little reminiscent of Western-style ‘TV civil society’ with its two thousand famous faces. Critics will call it an updated version of the Soviet collective leadership during the era of gerontocracy. But that’s not entirely correct.
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Updated version of “collective leadership”?
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This is a case of installing an upgrade and rebooting the system. Upgrade and reboot won’t of course change the operating system. The issues at stake here are increasing efficiency, sustainability, modernisation, - and keeping hold of power. What else?
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And it is also about diversifying the political system and its cast of stars. Doing this ‘only’ for the upcoming elections, does not detract from this. Elections are held precisely to generate such effects.
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First upgrade, then reboot. Kremlin 2008
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In any case, the totalitarianism theory that the tyrant Putin is only interested in clinging to power, and thus would either run for president again, or appoint an obedient successor, seems to have lost its force. Not that that will deter its proponents.
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Putin’s domination of United Russia is admittedly, however, hardly diversification. While many cards are in play in the Kremlin succession game, his heading the United Russia party list will suffocate the competition between political parties that has just begun to perk up a little.
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This is not the rebirth of the Communist Party, but the descension of Vladimir Putin from the heights of the Kremlin to the jungle of party and bureaucratic politics – as a consequence becoming more exposed in the electorate’s eyes to their ugliness.
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Strong Prime Minister and weak President = Permanent dual authority?
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There would be one very tangible effect of Vladimir Putin’s moving into the White House as Prime Minister.
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The previous uni-dimensional focus of power on the Kremlin would be shaken. A second power centre would develop alongside the Kremlin. But executive schizophrenia is hardly a traditional approach to division of powers. And permanent dual authority is unlikely to be a sustainable solution for Russia.
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by Gisbert Mrozek, Moscow (gim/.rufo/Moscow)
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