Translated material
The Age of Putin
A representative of the party in power proposed replacing the presidential elections with a popular referendum
The coordinator of the presidium of the general council of the United Russia party on national policy and interaction with religious associations, Abdul-Khakim Sultygov, made a proposal yesterday to hold a nationwide referendum on the attitude of the country's people to the politics of Russia since the beginning of the 21st century. Considering that there has been no other president in Russia except Vladimir Putin in the 21st century, another question smoothly follows from this question - about a third term or even a lifelong presidency. If the people speak out for the continuity of the course, and Putin refuses to run in 2008, in fact, the referendum will mean popular consent to any official successor without presidential elections.However, Mr. Sultygov himself speaks out in favor of introducing amendments to the Russian Constitution, removing restrictions on the exercise of presidential powers for two consecutive terms. Meanwhile, until now, the leaders of United Russia, as well as President Putin himself, have repeatedly opposed any changes to the Constitution. Categorically and even with some irritation.
This time, the secretary of the general council of United Russia, Vyacheslav Volodin, in a conversation with a Vremya Novostei correspondent, also emphasized that Mr. Sultygov expressed exclusively his point of view, and not at all the position of the party. Nevertheless, the painful topic of “Putin’s third term” has resurfaced.
“All this is ridiculous and even indecent,” Mark Urnov, chairman of the Expertise Foundation, told Vremya Novostey. - United Russia members are trying to shout one louder than the other and thereby demonstrate their loyalty. I don’t know if Mr. Sultygov has heard that there are sociological services that conduct relevant surveys. They allow us to judge who feels what. And the presidential elections themselves are already an answer to the question of the people’s attitude to the country’s politics. It is impossible to seriously consider this initiative. This will do nothing but waste money. If United Russia wants to extend Putin’s term through a referendum, then it is absolutely unnecessary to organize this nonsense with preparatory referendums. It is not so important whether Mr. Sultygov speaks on his own behalf or on behalf of the party. It is quite possible that someone at the top of the party told him: “Come on, brother, do something like this.”
At the same time, Abdul-Khakim Sultygov himself claims that he did not make his proposal in order to contribute to the extension of Vladimir Putin’s presidential powers. “I meant that right now we need to find out the attitude of Russians to the radical changes that took place in the country after 2000, to what is called Putin’s policy. A very specific legal procedure must be carried out, namely the removal of restrictions on the number of presidential terms. And how the president will react to the results of the citizens’ decision is a second question. Even if the president does not want to run for a third term, we will know for sure that the invariability of his course is absolutely guaranteed,” Mr. Sultygov told a Vremya Novostei correspondent.
Opinion polls, as is known, have neither political nor legal force. The main problem is not in the polls, but in guaranteeing the continuity of the course after 2008, regardless of what the president’s last name will be. This is important not only for us, but also for the whole world - where Russia will go after 2008.”
While individual party members are putting forward proposals that are so bold from the point of view of common sense that actually cancel the presidential elections in the country, the leadership of United Russia is busy preparing a new party program designed until 2016. The first vice speaker of the State Duma, member of the presidium of the party's general council, Oleg Morozov, told reporters about this yesterday. He emphasized that the need for this document was due to noticeable changes in domestic and international life. “There are many questions that need to be answered,” said Mr. Morozov. In his opinion, United Russia should act as “the party of historical revenge and national success.”
In addition, Mr. Morozov noted that United Russia will take on the difficult mission of restoring people's trust in the authorities and the country. The document will simultaneously represent the election program of the party in power. The draft program will be presented to the bureau of the Supreme Council of United Russia in September, then discussed by regional organizations, and finally adopted at the party congress on December 2.
Apparently, dreams of “national revenge”, together with the desire to remain the ruling party until 2016, are what drive such bold ideas of United Russia. After all, now their entire program is unconditional support for the current president. And the relatively high rating of United Russia is a derivative of Vladimir Putin’s twice as high rating.