Dmitry Medvedev - not yet elected but already appointed

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MOSCW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Vavra) - Many months of guesswork are finally over - Dmitry Medvedev was the first politician to be viewed as a possible successor to Vladimir Putin, and now his nomination is official.

The United Russia party, which won an overwhelming parliamentary majority in the recent elections, as well as Just Russia, the Agrarian Party and Civil Power, have nominated him as a presidential candidate. In other words, he is nominated not only by the government but also by a broad spectrum of political forces - at any rate those which the government is ready to view as its allies.

Why was he chosen? I think largely because of all the members of Putin's team, he has had the most impressive professional career and has demonstrated the greatest successes in mastering the difficult art of state government and the best ability to compromise - to find partners and allies rather than make enemies. At the same time, he can be tough. His active television campaign has scored him additional points, although in real life he looks much more convincing.

I think that foreign leaders will also be happy with this choice. Now that relations with the West have reached the lowest point (partly as a result of the parliamentary elections), Russia is sending a clear signal - it will elect a man with a steady image of a sensible politician, who cherishes democratic values and supports the nation's pro-European policy. We will continue to uphold our national interests and are not going to turn natural rivalry into irreconcilable conflicts. In a word, Medvedev is a civilized politician.

While different potential candidates were considered, Medvedev's rivals did not look as impressive. Viktor Zubkov is mostly known for his crackdowns on second-rate officials. Sergei Ivanov has been promoting nanotechnologies - too miniscule for the human eye. He has also revealed strong militaristic attitudes and, hence, anti-West orientation. Other candidates did not do anything memorable. Meanwhile, Medvedev has made his career in the social sphere, which has always been considered a no-go for a promising politician. For two years he was involved in a prosaic but vital effort to improve the social and material wellbeing of millions of Russian citizens and has achieved much on this road by concentrating enormous financial and organizational resources.

Medvedev's nomination is probably the best choice in the eyes of the majority of people and can consolidate the main part of the elite. At the same time, Medvedev has his own likes and dislikes. He has developed his own preferences during his work in high positions. In this sense, not all members of the political elite will rejoice at his nomination.

His communication with Putin will be of paramount importance. Judging by everything, it is not going to be a problem. Medvedev has always been perceived as the president's closest and most devoted colleague. In this context, the link between the president and the national leader looks most natural for all the ambiguous and non-traditional features of this structure. The latter does not tell us what we will have in four years from now.

It would not be very exciting to watch Medvedev fighting for the presidential seat alone. The final question is whether the intrigue of the presidential elections is over. It seems to be because the party of power cannot support two candidates. If ministries, public movements or some hypothetical associations of governors appoint their own candidates, they will have no chance of winning the race against the ruling party's nominee.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

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