Opinion - Editorials   

Spectacular electoral triumph

What is now clear is that no other political leader in any elective democracy has anything like President Vladimir Putin’s level and intensity of popular support. The landslide victory of parties loyal to him in the Russian parliamentary elections is a powerful endorsement of his leadership of the Russian Federation over the past eight years. United Russia, which had Mr. Putin (who is not a party member) as its leading candidate, has won 64 per cent of the popular vo te, compared with less than 38 per cent in the last parliamentary elections. The opposition Communist Party came a distant second with less than 12 per cent of the vote. United Russia will have a two-thirds majority in the new State Duma and, together with two other pro-Putin parties — Just Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party of Vladimir Zhirinovsky — will command close to 90 per cent of seats in the 450-member Duma. The total collapse of opposition liberal parties, which together polled less than three per cent of the popular vote, is being interpreted across Russia as an emphatic rejection of the ‘shock therapy reforms’ undertaken by Boris Yeltsin and other pro-west politicians.

President Putin has presided over a triumphant restoration of Russia’s integrity, economic and military strength, and return to the global stage as a powerful centre of influence. The Russian economy has expanded from a GDP level of $200 billion to $1.2 trillion in less than a decade — and is set to become a $2 trillion economy by 2010. Russians decidedly want Mr. Putin to stay on as President, with opinion polls predicting an effortless win if he were to contest the presidential elections next March. The 55-year-old leader has vowed to stand down as the Constitution requires him to do, but he has also made it clear that he will not retire from politics. The phalanx of Putin loyalists in the Duma guarantees political stability and the continuity of policies. Mr. Putin has interpreted the electoral triumph as conferring on him a “moral right” to see to it that the next government carries on his policies. The electoral verdict also puts him in a strong position to promote a trusted ally as his successor in the post of President. United Russia is set to name a Putin-backed presidential candidate when it holds its congress later this month. The rise of United Russia as a dominant political force opens the possibility of Mr. Putin joining the party as its leader after he steps down as head of state. That should strengthen the role of political parties in the Russian power configuration, enhance the authority of the State Duma, and in the long run promote Russia’s progress along the road of parliamentary democracy.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Spectacular electoral triumph
Bravo Murali
Embedded reporting: too close to comfort?
Bali and beyond: a new green economics
Is our technological manpower keeping pace?
Corrections and clarifications
Malaysian Tamils
Intimidating
On rural service
Unfortunate

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu