Other Russian political activists have clashing opinions on his prospects.
"Kasyanov may come up as a Russian Yuschenko," said Gennadi Zyuganov, Communist Party leader and one of presidential hopefuls on the latest campaign.
"Kasyanov is getting back to the political arena. Significantly, he timed his news conference to Bratislava summitry.
"Preparations are underway to introduce another Yuschenko, Russian-fashion. Kasyanov is one of the principal candidates to play the part. He has not offered anything new-but what he is saying may be regarded as a start made for a presidential race," Mr. Zyuganov reasoned in a Novosti interview.
"Kasyanov was at the helm, in his time-and nothing changed to the better. If he wins, he will pursue the same old policies, but in a tougher variant. He will repeat [Yegor] Gaidar's patterns, but he'll be harder about it."
As the Communist leader sees it, Kasyanov may come to the top with Ukraine's Orange Revolution re-enacted in Russia, which has every prerequisite for it.
"The party in office has done a bad turn to all and sundry. There are major social problems, and overall developments resemble the Ukrainian situation," he stressed.
Nevertheless, Mr. Zyuganov made a strong warning against promotion of revolutions of that kind.
Mikhail Kasyanov appears to be quite serious about his intention to run for presidency in 2008, considers Nikolai Kharitonov, another presidential hopeful of last year.
"Anyone has the right of nomination for federal presidency," he remarked to Novosti. Kasyanov does not merely wish to run-he has good money to back him, added our interviewee.
Kasyanov will, most probably, harp on criticisms of the present Cabinet in his campaign,but then, too many have skeptical reminiscences of his own recent premiership. "Kasyanov has the smallest possible chance to win the race," said Mr. Kharitonov.
Novosti interviewed another presidential hopeful of several previous campaigns. That was Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Liberal Democratic leader and State Duma Deputy Speaker. "The man can't be serious!" he snapped at Mr. Kasyanov's statement that he could not rule out prospects to run for presidency in 2008.
As Zhirinovsky sees it, the ex-Premier said so merely because he was dismissed from the Premier's office a year ago. "He might have retained certain privileges of a civil servant for the year. Now, the year has elapsed. The man can't get anything more from the top, so he has chosen to gamble in politics. He'll never lead a political party, and he'll never make it to a presidential nomination. It's sheer bluff, I am sure. Kasyanov will not set up anything, or take part in anything. He is now trying to learn the public mood-but no one is siding with him, and he has no chance to knock up a political party, to say nothing of winning presidency."
"He can't be serious!" Oleg Malyshkin, another Liberal Democratic activist, repeated his boss's opinion. Now a member of the State Duma, parliament's lower house, he was presidential hopeful in last year's election.
"Kasyanov just blurted it out without thinking," Mr. Malyshkin said to Novosti concerning his appearance on the next presidential campaign. Our interviewee does not think Kasyanov really means to run. Even if he does, he will not have the slightest chance. "Everyone remembers him as Premier. Kasyanov was always on the top-he doesn't know what the life of the people-in-the-street is really like."
Vladimir Zhirinovsky is firmly determined to run for presidency. "I'm sure to win," he said to Novosti. At any rate, he expects to come second, and so get a chance to win one of the nearest elections-in 2012 or 2016.
Gennadi Seleznev, onceState Duma Speaker, also intends to appear in the presidential campaign. He will lead a Left bloc, he said to a news conference today. Mr. Seleznev is establishing a socially-oriented Left Center party, under the name of Patriots' Union, he added.
