The Guardian, David Hearst, Saturday 12 November 2011
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| Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin surprised academics and journalists at a dinner by agreeing with their criticisms. Photograph: MIsha Japaridze/EPA |
Russia's
prime minister, Vladimir Putin, admitted that his government had lost of the
trust of its people and pledged to introduce what he called "direct
democracy" to refresh it, when he is returned for a third presidential
term next March.
Challenged
during a meeting with foreign academics and journalists to admit that power in
Russia was too centralised, that 80% of President Dmitry Medvedev's decrees
were ignored or not fully implemented by the regions, and that no one trusted
the power structure he had created, Putin astonished everyone by agreeing. He
said: "I tell you, I agree. I don't object to anything you have
said."
He said
when he first became president 11 years ago the country was in so much chaos it
was on the verge of civil war. He established a system of "manual
control" over the regions, abolishing elections and appointing governors
himself.
Speaking to
a meeting of the Valdai Club, Putin said it was time to devolve certain powers
and taxation back to the regions: "I have every intention to do that, but
we have to act carefully. We have certain ideas about how to expand direct
democracy, but it would be premature to announce them now. The British say it
took 400 years for a lawn to be made, but we have not got that time."
Putin was
speaking after a survey conducted by the Kremlin about the unpopularity of
regional governors was leaked to Gazeta.ru. It showed that a large number of
governors, many of whom were heading Putin's United Russia party's regional
lists – had poll ratings below 20%.
In Moscow,
St Petersberg and Kaliningrad, voters were deserting the party that has
nominated Mr Putin as their presidential candidate.
While this
is not expected to change the fact that United Russia will get the majority in
the forthcoming parliamentary elections in December - because United Russia is
a party of bureaucrats and is infamous for strongarming teachers, students and
millions of public sector workers to vote for them - it is a clear indication
to Mr Putin that he has to act.
He is not
expected to return to reintroduce elections for governors, but two commissions
are currently looking at ideas on how to devolve more power and money to the
governors, and devising measures to make them more accountable locally.
In a
two-and-half-hour session with academics in the bizarre setting of the
restaurant of Moscow's richest equestrian club, New Century, Putin spoke as if
his own election as president was a foregone conclusion.
He bemoaned
the resignation of his "great friend" Silvio Berlusconi, who he
called one of the "last of the Great Mohicans of European leaders".
Putin said: "[Berlusconi] is a very open person, which is rare in European
politics. Gerhard Schröder [the former German chancellor] told me that Silvio
was a very good person, but not much of a politician. But when Schröder himself
resigned and Silvio went on and on, I remembered what he said, where he is and
where you are."
Putin
criticised the US for its plans to place missile defence units on Russia's
borders and said no one was listening to Russia's concerns that missile defence
would make the balance of strategic nuclear forces unstable. He also repeated
his criticisms of the intervention in Libya, and called on the Syrian
opposition to meet President Bashar al-Assad. All three positions will
complicate attempts by the US administration to keep their policy of resetting
relations with Russia on track.
Putin
scorned criticism that March's presidential election would be a fix after his
decision to swap places with Medvedev. He said Gordon Brown had taken over from
Tony Blair without any election and no one had said that had deprived the
British people of a vote.
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