The Wall Street Journal-20080123-Politics - Economics- Putin-s Heir Apparent Strikes More-Liberal Note- Medvedev-s Pledge To Boost Democracy Fails to Move Critics
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Politics & Economics: Putin's Heir Apparent Strikes More-Liberal Note; Medvedev's Pledge To Boost Democracy Fails to Move Critics
MOSCOW -- Vladimir Putin's chosen successor kicked off his presidential campaign with pledges to strengthen democracy and build a market economy. Politicians and analysts said the shift from the Kremlin's recent hard-line tone is likely to be stylistic at best.
In his first major speech as a candidate, Dmitry Medvedev told a gathering of Kremlin-approved civic groups that Russia needs "decades of stable development." Without outlining specific proposals, he called for more popular involvement in politics, a stepped-up drive against corruption and a loosening of controls on the media. In foreign policy, he said Russia aims to be a world power but should "openly and clearly explain our plans and find allies in the world."
Virtually guaranteeing he will win in the March 2 elections, Mr. Putin picked longtime protege Mr. Medvedev, 42 years old, as his candidate to succeed him last month. Mr. Medvedev promptly said he would name as prime minister the highly popular Mr. Putin, who is barred by the constitution from seeking a third consecutive presidential term. Backed by strong Kremlin support and favorable coverage in the state media, Mr. Medvedev's poll ratings have surged, with more than 60% of Russians saying they will vote for him, though he has done little campaigning.
The measured tone of yesterday's speech was a departure from Mr. Putin's harsh rhetoric during the fall parliamentary campaign. At that time, he denounced domestic critics as agents of Western governments seeking to weaken Russia and gain control over its vast oil-and-gas reserves.
But Alexei Makarkin, vice president of the Center for Political Technologies, a Moscow political consultant, said yesterday's speech was more a political and ideological "credo" than a harbinger of real change. "We can hardly expect any decisive turn toward political liberalism," he said.
Unlike Mr. Putin, who served in the Soviet KGB, Mr. Medvedev has no apparent background in the security services and is considered a relative liberal within the narrow bounds of Kremlin orthodoxy. But he has worked closely with Mr. Putin throughout the president's eight years in office, most recently as first deputy prime minister and chairman of state gas giant OAO Gazprom. His speech included no hint of criticism of the Putin era.
"The Kremlin is scared to democratize the system because it would weaken it," said a senior member of the pro-Kremlin party. "Medvedev shares these views completely."
But with support for Mr. Medvedev already strong and no serious opponents on the ballot, the Kremlin can afford to ease up on the hard-line rhetoric that had been a necessity to mobilize votes in the December parliamentary election for the bureaucratic pro-Kremlin party, which inspired only tepid support. "It's all very pragmatic," Mr. Makarkin said. Mr. Medvedev "doesn't have to take such extreme steps."
Mr. Medvedev's 30-minute address was closer in style to Mr. Putin's annual state-of-the-nation addresses, which frequently laid out policy priorities that seemed to reflect democratic and pro-market values. Those priorities, however, didn't often align with the Kremlin's actions.
"In the speech, there were practically no controversial elements," said Nikita Belykh, head of the Union of Right Forces, an opposition party. "But there's very little in common between what is announced and what is actually implemented."
Shortly before Mr. Medvedev spoke, prosecutors announced a criminal investigation into allegations of falsification of electoral petitions by backers of opposition candidate Mikhail Kasyanov. Mr. Putin's first prime minister, Mr. Kasyanov is the harshest critic of the Kremlin seeking a place on the ballot. He said his campaign has been the victim "an orgy of lawlessness" by authorities. "The government is afraid of direct political confrontation," he said, adding that Mr. Putin, not electoral authorities, will make the decision on whether to allow him on the ballot.
In his speech, Mr. Medvedev defended the changes to electoral and party legislation that opposition groups say have forced critics of the Kremlin to the margins of the political system.
His calls for dialogue and support for civil society, meanwhile, came a week after Russian officials forced two Russian offices of the British Council, a government cultural organization, to shut down.
"There are a lot of differences in reality between the reality and the rhetoric," said Vladimir Ryzhkov, a prominent opposition politician. He noted that the speech suggested the Kremlin expects no threat to its power for years to come.
Mr. Medvedev said his economic program, which will be released soon, will cover the period until 2020. On Monday, Sergei Mironov, a close Putin ally who is speaker of the upper house of parliament, told a Moscow newspaper that the Medvedev-Putin duo could switch posts back and forth and stay in power at least until 2026.
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Alan Cullison contributed to this article.
