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Putin 'jobless for a day'
08/05/2008 12:04 - (SA)
Moscow - Loyal lawmakers were set to confirm Vladimir Putin as prime minister on Thursday, capping a carefully engineered recast of Russia's leadership a day after he handed the presidency to his protege Dmitry Medvedev.
Putin's unprecedented move from the Kremlin to the No 2 post will keep him politically prominent for the foreseeable future and could serve as a springboard back to the presidency. It has Russians wondering who will really hold the country's reins.
The switch comes after months of political manoeuvring by the popular Putin to maintain a role in ruling Russia after stepping down. Barred by term limits from running in the March presidential vote, he anointed Medvedev as his favoured successor in December and pledged to serve as his prime minister.
Medvedev formally nominated Putin in one of his first acts as president on Wednesday. He was certain to be confirmed by the State Duma, the lower parliament house, where his United Russia party holds 315 of the 450 seats.
Presenting his nominee to a rare full house at the Duma on Thursday, Medvedev said lawmakers' applause "means that Vladimir Vladimirovich needs no special recommendation" and credited his mentor with vastly improving Russia's economy and global stature.
"Russia is respected once again," Medvedev said.
After a meeting with Putin in the Kremlin late on Wednesday, leaders of United Russia, and the two other Kremlin-allied parties in the Duma said they would approve his nomination. Only the Communist Party, with 57 Duma seats, said it would not support him.
Wielding power
Russia's president is the undisputed head of state and sets policy on all fronts, while the prime minister heads the Cabinet and is responsible for running the economy. But Putin is expected to have strong influence on Medvedev, who at 42 is 13 years younger and owes his political ascent to his mentor.
Putin's prime ministers, particularly during his second term, served largely as enforcers and fall guys, sometimes shouldering blame for problems and sometimes passing it down the line to Cabinet ministers. Putin, meanwhile, remained above the fray and any hint of criticism on state-run television was taboo.
Putin is expected to play a far stronger role. In addition to being prime minister, he will also control the Duma and wield power nationwide as chairperson of United Russia, a position he assumed last month after leading the party to a sweeping victory in December parliamentary elections.
Putin and Medvedev have taken pains to stress they will work together in an alliance that will help Russia modernise its economy, boost social welfare and tackle the severe infrastructure problems that are depleting its population and jeopardising its future.
"I think nobody doubts that our tandem, our co-operation will only strengthen," Medvedev told lawmakers in presenting Putin. He said the former president "will play a key role" in implementing policy.
Critics say the show of solidarity masks fears that Putin has navigated Russia into a dangerous period of political uncertainty, with two centres of power taking shape in a potentially debilitating and divisive arrangement.
Under the constitution, the prime minister temporarily replaces a president who dies or is incapacitated.
Putin, 55, a longtime KGB officer, served as prime minister for five months in 1999 under Boris Yeltsin, who stepped down unexpectedly on December 31 of that year and handed him the presidency. Putin was elected to his first term three months later.
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