Putin may become chancellor

Olga Kryshtanovskaya, director of the Institute for Applied Politics, and Stanislav Belkovsky, president of the Institute for National Strategy, talk about possible options for the development of the political situation in Russia after 2008.

Olga Kryshtanovskaya believes that Putin will become prime minister for the period from 2008 to 2012, and after that he will again run for president. The option that he will head the parliament, Kryshtanovskaya considers unlikely.

However, the most interesting option is the transition to the German model:

"After 2008, when Putin becomes prime minister, the constitution will be changed to introduce the German model in Russia. Then the president will not be elected by the people, but by some kind of assembly, for example, by parliament and the Public Chamber. And the prime minister will become like a chancellor" . In such a scenario, the president's power will be greatly weakened, and Putin will once again concentrate power in his hands as a strong chancellor and will be able to rule as long as he likes.

Stanislav Belkovsky of Kryshtanovskaya's variants supports the first one. He believes that Putin will keep the Russians in suspense until the very end with the possibility of an unconstitutional extension of presidential powers until the last moment, and in the end he will "please" everyone by offering the population a controlled successor. "For Putin, in the future, the main thing is guarantees of personal and economic security. And they must be provided by a loyal successor . "

Interestingly, Pavlovsky's version of Putin retaining the role of "informal leader" of the country is closer this time to the version of his traditional opponent Belkovsky.

Sources

• Dmitry Taratorin Third will be? // Novye Izvestia. 2005. April 13.
• Marina Saidukova, Aleksandra Samarina German model being prepared for Putin // Independent newspaper. 2005. April 13.