Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who also heads the pro-government United Russia party, criticised his colleagues while acknowledging their services to the country.
United Russia leader Vladimir Putin admitted that he was not quite satisfied with the party’s activities, and that he did not like its cumbersome administrative structure very much. On the other hand, the prime minister indicated that United Russia promoted a consolidated society, that it was being successfully used as an instrument for promptly tackling various problems, and that it therefore played a positive role.
Analysts interviewed by the paper unanimously agreed that Putin’s statements were an attempt to draw feedback along the entire partisan hierarchy of power. Putin advises his supporters not to relax because he is watching them closely.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently drove the future Amur federal highway, assessing the quality of his car and that of the road surface. That same Saturday, he also assessed the quality of the United Russia party he heads. The prime minister said he could not say he was completely satisfied with the party’s activities. He singled out its “cumbersome administrative structure.” “People who set goals do not always strive to achieve them in real life. There are many personal aspects and, unfortunately, some mercenary interests,” Putin said, while driving his Kalina Sport. But he drew a favourable conclusion for the party in general. “On the whole, the United Russia party plays a major positive role as a national party. Although, as I mentioned, there are drawbacks, it is still a consolidating factor in our society. Due to its potential, primarily its parliamentary potential, it provides a vehicle for passing quick decisions, especially in acute critical situations,” Putin noted.
Putin has repeatedly drawn society’s attention to the rather low quality of this pro-government party. At the same time, he invariably stresses that its existence has more merits than drawbacks. Putin said at the height of the 2007 State Duma election campaign that there was no other party. At that time, the outgoing pesident ran on the United Russia ticket explaining that this organisation was far from ideal, that it lacked a real ideology and that numerous rogues had sided with it, but that it was needed as an instrument.
Sergei Obukhov, a secretary of the Russian Communist Party’s Central Committee, said Putin had once again told the people of Russia: “You have no choice. You will continue to have problems with this party, the way I do.” At the same time, Obukhov admitted that the prime minister was right, and that it was impossible to establish any other national pro-government party.
The paper, nonetheless, asked analysts whether any tough measures to overhaul United Russia would be implemented after such pointed statements by Putin. Unofficial purges were conducted after his statement concerning partisan “rogues.” The “cumbersome administrative structure” has a certain potential for reform. The paper has already written about a recent discussion concerning the possible abolition of the party’s Supreme Council. It is also common knowledge that the activities of United Russia’s Central Executive Committee headed by Andrei Vorobyov are constantly being criticised by party members.
However, analysts agreed that United Russia will not be overhauled anytime soon. Alexei Makarkin, deputy general director at the Moscow-based Centre for Political Technologies, is confident that Putin will change nothing in the run-up to the elections, and that his latest statement about his lack of satisfaction implies that party members should not feel slack. This also comes as a warning to those who do not understand.
Yevgeny Minchenko, director of the International Institute of Political Assessment, stressed that the need for upgrading United Russia has been mentioned for a long time, but that nothing is being done for objective reasons. “The lack of a deep bench is one of this party’s problems,” the analyst said. He said Putin was perfectly aware of his party’s drawbacks and realised that some of them made it impossible to eliminate others. The lack of new and truly reliable human resources virtually rules out any structural reform.
Ivan Rodin