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Medvedev nervous about top job
21/12/2007 08:20 - (SA)
Moscow - Dmitry Medvedev, almost certain to become the next president of Russia, on Thursday formally made his application to run in the March 2 election, but admitted he was nervous about "a tough job" ahead.
The popularity ratings of Medvedev, first deputy prime minister, have risen sharply after President Vladimir Putin said last week he wanted his close friend and ally to succeed him.
But though Putin's backing makes Medvedev's victory a foregone conclusion, the 42-year-old lawyer acknowledged some apprehension.
"I don't feel fear, but I do feel nervousness, because I will have to justify the faith of an enormous number of people who are counting on me to carry out what is, for this country, a tough job," he told reporters at the elections commission.
Medvedev, a short man in a dark-blue suit, appeared to mumble words of encouragement to himself as he approached a phalanx of camera-wielding journalists on a giant marble compass rose with the cardinal directions inscribed in German.
The constitution bars Putin, who has presided over years of Russia's economic boom, to seek a third term. But he says he has "moral right" to maintain political influence after he leaves next year.
Analysts say that the choice of the St Petersburg lawyer, who has no power base of his own, was part of Putin's plan to hold on to the levers of power after quitting.
Pledging loyalty
Medvedev, the chairperson of the board at gas giant Gazprom and overseer of Putin's ambitious national projects designed to turn swelling budget revenues into better medical care, housing, education and agriculture, pledged loyalty to his boss.
"Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) has done a lot for our country, and with his arrival, Russia's authority in the international arena has strengthened significantly," he said.
"People have begun to feel pride in the fact that they have a Russian passport in their pockets," Medvedev added.
Speaking to reporters he confirmed media rumours that Putin would dispatch Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Sobyanin to manage the election campaign.
Analysts say Putin's unprecedented decision would ensure his personal control over the already tightly stage-managed ascendancy process.
The nomination of Medvedev, a member of a more liberal wing in Putin's entourage, and the designation of Sobyanin, who is personally loyal to Putin, are setbacks for the group of Kremlin hawks known as the siloviki.
Russian media has reported that the siloviki wanted Putin to anoint First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov as his preferred successor rather than Medvedev.
The siloviki also favoured chief Kremlin strategist Vladislav Surkov, who served in an elite military intelligence unit in East Germany and is thought to be behind the pro-Putin youth group Nashi, to steer the next presidential campaign.
The overwhelming majority of Russians polled by the Russian Public Opinion Study Centre think Medvedev will win, with 72% predicting his victory and only 4% foreseeing his defeat.
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