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United Russia will be losing its popular figurehead, Vladimir Putin, when he returns to the presidency next month. Putin has suggested an appropriate replacement for the foundering party, President Dmitry Medvedev, who will likely have to reform the party from within in order to keep it viable in future elections. Yet Putin's exit can only spell danger for the party ­ with other initiatives like the All-Russian National Front in the wings, United Russia could well see a massive restructuring this summer, or the project could be scrapped altogether.
file photo

On Tuesday prime minister Putin said that he would be leaving the chairmanship of the ruling party in anticipation of his May 7 inauguration as president. Speaking with senior United Russia leadership, Putin justified his decision by saying that the president should be above politics. "The Constitution doesn't forbid the president from being a member of a party, but in the spirit that has come to be in our political life, the president is above all a consolidating figure for all the political forces in the country, for all the citizens of the country," said Putin.

Yet Putin did have a suggestion for a replacement: President Dmitry Medvedev, who will become prime minister after the inauguration. According to analysts, there is little doubt that Medvedev will be voted in at the party's next convention, scheduled for May 26. The move has been called the "second castling" ­ the second act of Medvedev's and Putin's swap of the presidency that they announced had been planned in advance.

For Putin, the announcement comes not a moment too soon. In the past six months, United Russia has increasingly fallen into crisis. In the December parliamentary elections, the ruling party failed to win a majority of the votes, despite accusations of massive election fraud in its favor. Since then, the party's reputation has gone into freefall ­ rumors have surfaced of a serious rebranding or even a complete scrapping of the United Russia project this summer.

Putin's exit from the leadership of the party was not unexpected, said Elena Pozdnyakova, a leading analyst for the Center for Political Technologies. Besides depriving the party of its most popular figure ­ Putin ­ the latest swap could also point to Putin's intention to strengthen competing initiatives. "Putin's exit is entirely logical, considering that he now has the opportunity and the wish to strengthen the All-Russian People's Front," said Pozdnyakova. So far the front, which supplies 80 of United Russia's 241 deputies in the State Duma, has not formed a party of its own.

Boris Gryzlov, a member of United Russia's Senior Council, attempted to keep that from happening on Tuesday when he stumped for members of the front to join United Russia formally. "It's important that the United Russia faction [in the State Duma] preserves its unity," said Gryzlov. "I'm drawing attention to this because for the first time, this faction is not just made up of members of the United Russia Party, but also of a large number of representatives of the All-Russian People's Front... I think it would be right if they joined the party as members, and this would strengthen the unity of our faction," he said.

Medvedev is expected to bring a fresh, younger face to the party, and possibly initiate reforms for a rebranding; yet fixing United Russia's reputation as the "party of crooks and thieves" will be beyond Medvedev's capabilities, said INDEM think tank analyst Yury Korgonyuk. "United Russia is a mass grave where Putin has thrown Medvedev," he said. "There's no political life within United Russia and the party brings nothing in terms of independent political initiatives."

Neither is Medvedev expected to have an important effect on the party's popularity among voters. "From an electoral point of view, United Russia's popularity is somewhere between 30 and 40 percent... Medvedev's connection to the party, of course, won't bring the party much support," political analyst Vladimir Slatinov told RIA Novosti.

While Medvedev may not be able to repair United Russia, he's probably the only politician who could hold it together with Putin's exit, said Pozdnyakova. "The leader of the party has to be an important figure," she said. "If the leader were a person of lesser stature [than Medvedev], than that would mean the immediate destruction of the party, a flight of the elite and a collapse."

Keywords: Russia, Government, Politics - Russian News - Russia

 

United Russia will be losing its popular figurehead, Vladimir Putin, when he returns to the presidency next month. Putin has suggested an appropriate replacement for the foundering party, President Dmitry Medvedev, who will likely have to reform the party from within in order to keep it viable in future elections. Yet Putin's exit can only spell danger for the party ­ with other initiatives like the All-Russian National Front in the wings, United Russia could well see a massive restructuring this summer, or the project could be scrapped altogether.
file photo

On Tuesday prime minister Putin said that he would be leaving the chairmanship of the ruling party in anticipation of his May 7 inauguration as president. Speaking with senior United Russia leadership, Putin justified his decision by saying that the president should be above politics. "The Constitution doesn't forbid the president from being a member of a party, but in the spirit that has come to be in our political life, the president is above all a consolidating figure for all the political forces in the country, for all the citizens of the country," said Putin.

Yet Putin did have a suggestion for a replacement: President Dmitry Medvedev, who will become prime minister after the inauguration. According to analysts, there is little doubt that Medvedev will be voted in at the party's next convention, scheduled for May 26. The move has been called the "second castling" ­ the second act of Medvedev's and Putin's swap of the presidency that they announced had been planned in advance.

For Putin, the announcement comes not a moment too soon. In the past six months, United Russia has increasingly fallen into crisis. In the December parliamentary elections, the ruling party failed to win a majority of the votes, despite accusations of massive election fraud in its favor. Since then, the party's reputation has gone into freefall ­ rumors have surfaced of a serious rebranding or even a complete scrapping of the United Russia project this summer.

Putin's exit from the leadership of the party was not unexpected, said Elena Pozdnyakova, a leading analyst for the Center for Political Technologies. Besides depriving the party of its most popular figure ­ Putin ­ the latest swap could also point to Putin's intention to strengthen competing initiatives. "Putin's exit is entirely logical, considering that he now has the opportunity and the wish to strengthen the All-Russian People's Front," said Pozdnyakova. So far the front, which supplies 80 of United Russia's 241 deputies in the State Duma, has not formed a party of its own.

Boris Gryzlov, a member of United Russia's Senior Council, attempted to keep that from happening on Tuesday when he stumped for members of the front to join United Russia formally. "It's important that the United Russia faction [in the State Duma] preserves its unity," said Gryzlov. "I'm drawing attention to this because for the first time, this faction is not just made up of members of the United Russia Party, but also of a large number of representatives of the All-Russian People's Front... I think it would be right if they joined the party as members, and this would strengthen the unity of our faction," he said.

Medvedev is expected to bring a fresh, younger face to the party, and possibly initiate reforms for a rebranding; yet fixing United Russia's reputation as the "party of crooks and thieves" will be beyond Medvedev's capabilities, said INDEM think tank analyst Yury Korgonyuk. "United Russia is a mass grave where Putin has thrown Medvedev," he said. "There's no political life within United Russia and the party brings nothing in terms of independent political initiatives."

Neither is Medvedev expected to have an important effect on the party's popularity among voters. "From an electoral point of view, United Russia's popularity is somewhere between 30 and 40 percent... Medvedev's connection to the party, of course, won't bring the party much support," political analyst Vladimir Slatinov told RIA Novosti.

While Medvedev may not be able to repair United Russia, he's probably the only politician who could hold it together with Putin's exit, said Pozdnyakova. "The leader of the party has to be an important figure," she said. "If the leader were a person of lesser stature [than Medvedev], than that would mean the immediate destruction of the party, a flight of the elite and a collapse."

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