Putin elected leader of the United Russia party

For Pol Mathil, "the problem is that Mr Putin's new position, leader of the majority party and executive power, is 'natural and corresponds to practices' not only in western democracies [as Putin says], but also in the old Soviet system. ... Starting Tuesday, anything is possible. Change, if not radical change, in the division and balance of powers in the Russian political system is normal if not inevitable. Certainly we won't see it right away, because what counts is not the institutions - as they are very democratic - but the informal backroom deals: deal or no-deal, namely the hidden struggle between groups that concentrate the property and power. No one knows the name of President Putin's prime minister. But will Mr Medvedev be able to avoid becoming the unknown president of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin?"

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