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| 'National leader': A new group has collected 30 million signatures calling for President Vladimir Putin to stay on. Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters |
Russian vote may help Putin craft his next role
The Dec. 2 vote is expected to bring his party a sweeping victory.
By Fred Weir | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the November 27, 2007 edition
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Moscow - President Vladimir Putin is constitutionally obliged to step down at the end of his second term next March.
But as the lead candidate of the pro-Kremlin United Russia (UR) party running in this weekend's parliamentary elections, he seems intent on carving out a future role for himself.
What role that will be is still unclear, but he has broad public support for staying in power.
Already enjoying an 84 percent approval rating, Putin is further bolstered by a huge, new well-funded public organization, "For Putin."
The group, which critics say is financed by the Kremlin, claims to have already collected 30 million signatures – more than 20 percent of the population – calling on Putin to remain Russia's "national leader," regardless of election results or constitutional law.
"Our task is to establish control over political parties and institutions of power with only one intention: that Putin's course be continued," says Pavel Astakhov, co-chair of the "For Putin" movement. "People want Putin to stay as a guarantee of the continuation of his reforms, to ensure a stable life."
Speculation on Putin's endgame
Moscow is abuzz with theories about how Putin might stay on. Most revolve around the constitutional provision that limits a president to "two consecutive terms," suggesting that Putin might leave office and legally run again at some later date.
Citing sources close to the Kremlin, the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta last week suggested Putin might resign following this Sunday's parliamentary polls – if UR wins the expected massive victory. That would allow the prime minister he appointed in September, Viktor Zubkov, to step into the position of acting president. The letter of the law thus satisfied, Putin would be free to run for the presidency again in March, the paper said.
Other experts say Putin is more likely to build his new base of power in the lower house of parliament, the Duma, where he hopes to control a two-thirds majority – enough to amend the Constitution. "[As head of UR] Putin will enjoy more legitimacy than the future president will," says Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a top expert on Russia's Kremlin elite.
Among other options, Putin might seek the job of prime minister and use UR's expected parliamentary majority to initiate constitutional changes that would shift powers from the president to the government, some experts have suggested.
"It's possible the Duma will become the real center of decisionmaking," says Ms. Kryshtanovskaya. "We may see a Chinese script develop in which Putin will be like Chairman Mao was," meaning a remote, authority-figure who is beyond challenge.
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