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Russia's biggest party seeks Putin as chairman
Russia's biggest party said yesterday it would ask President Vladimir Putin to become its chairman at a conference that could provide the final clue in the riddle of who will really run Russia after Putin steps down.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:58 April 14, 2008
Moscow: Russia's biggest party said yesterday it would ask President Vladimir Putin to become its chairman at a conference that could provide the final clue in the riddle of who will really run Russia after Putin steps down.
Putin has said he will serve as prime minister once his protege, Dmitry Medvedev, is sworn in as president on May 7. But for many investors the critical questions of how much power Putin will wield and for how long remain unanswered.
The United Russia party had said it would invite Putin to be leader, but yesterday it said it was creating the new post of party chairman and would offer it to Putin. The chairman's job would free Putin from day-to-day management duties.
If Putin does accept the invitation from the United Russia party to become its chairman, it would significantly entrench his power and indicate, some analysts say, that he is planning to use that position to preserve his long-term influence.
Turning down the job could suggest that Putin, after a trial period to make sure 42-year-old Medvedev settles into the Kremlin job, is planning to take a back seat.
No indications
The Kremlin has given no indications about whether Putin will take a role in the party's leadership. Putin is expected to attend the second day of the conference today.
"We are now talking about a concrete post which we intend to offer to Vladimir Putin, the post of chairman of the party," United Russia chief Boris Gryzlov told reporters on the first day of the party conference yesterday.
Lawmakers said the party chairmanship would be a non-executive role that would give Putin overall strategic control of the party.
Putin used a United Russia conference last year to announce he could serve as premier once his presidency, limited by the constitution to two consecutive terms, came to an end.
Putin, 55, is the country's most popular politician after presiding over Russia's longest economic boom for a generation and cementing Kremlin control after the chaos of the 1990s. His critics, a minority in Russia, accuse him of crushing democracy.
Investors want to know what Putin's final role will be after he steps down because they see political stability as key to Russia's booming $1.3 trillion economy.
Kremlin-watchers believe the riddle of what Putin will do next is still not fully solved because the post of prime minister is an awkward one for someone so powerful.
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