euro|topics - Changeover of power in Moscow

Główny temat z dnia Środa, 7. Maj 2008

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Changeover of power in Moscow

The new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will be sworn in today. His predecessor Vladimir Putin switches to the office of prime minister. The European press weighs up the concequences of the transfer of power in the Kremlin.

ABC - Hiszpania

The Moscow correspondent for the Spanish daily ABC reports that one of the greatest challenges facing the new president is corruption in Russia: "Paradoxically, Putin continues to be very popular despite the fact that it was under his government that corruption took on its current alarming proportions. ... Medvedev has a counterweight which Putin did not have, but it remains to be seen whether he will let himself be manipulated like a puppet. One should not forget that according to the Russian constitution, it is the president who governs. Both in Russia and abroad people are concerned that this two-headed state could lead to the kind of struggle that existed between Boris Yeltsin and the Supreme Soviet in 1993." (07/05/2008)

Postimees - Estonia

According to the Estonian newspaper, Dmitry Medvedev is in an easier position than Vladimir Putin was eight years ago because Russia is not in the chaotic state it was back in 2000. Nonetheless, the paper contends, he must find his own political course to resolve the country's pressing problems: "For the time being Russia has little to fear economically thanks to high oil and gas prices. But the problems could come later when its structural weaknesses become apparent. This would no doubt damage Medvedev's popularity. In addition to the country's domestic policy problems it also has foreign policy issues. The reactions in the West have generally been positive because Medvedev is seen as relatively liberal, but this raises the same question as in other areas: how much leeway will Medvedev have to adopt a more liberal course?" (07/05/2008)

Lidové noviny - Czechy

Pavel Mása comments on Putin's plans as Russia's Prime Minister. "Putin's idea of an absolutely unified mechanism may well become reality. But for that to be the case, Medvedev must accept that power remains in Putin's hands, and that he himself will play more of a representative role. Things will not be that simple, however. The new president would lose authority if he were just to blindly follow Putin's orders. This would also reduce the importance of the office of president. And that cannot be in Putin's interests, because sooner or later he will certainly want to return to the Kremlin." (07/05/2008)

Trouw - Holandia

Russia plans to have tanks and nuclear missiles roll over Red Square for the first time since 1990 to mark the inauguration of its new president. Marcel de Haas, a Russia expert at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael, writes that this can be interpreted as a sign that Russia has returned to the international arena as a superpower. Nonetheless, he points out that despite the deterioration in relations between Russia and the West "economic, political and military cooperation with the West continues, and there is no talk, as some claim, of a new Cold War. ... To prevent Russia from becoming increasingly isolated and sealed off from the West, Moscow should be showered with proposals for intensifying political and military cooperation. ... Under no circumstances should the West ignore Russia either economically or politically - such conduct would only promote rigid policies. ... The Kremlin knows that a lack of unity - also regarding Medvedev - is the Achilles' heel in the West's policy towards Russia. Adopting a more consistent and united policy towards Moscow ... is the challenge the West now faces." (07/05/2008)

Rzeczpospolita - Polska

Jerzy Haszczyński comments: "It would be a good thing if what people said about Medvedev half a year ago actually turned out to be true. ... That he will adopt a milder external policy. That he will not threaten war - either cold or nuclear. That he will not treat Russia's immediate neighbours as if they were a temporarily liberated zone of influence, and that he will refrain from aggressive energy policy. ... Medvedev will certainly defend Russian interests. ... But that does not mean he has to treat the West and its organisations (especially NATO) like enemies. Because the West does not represent a threat to Russia; indeed it is much nearer to Russia than many civilisations on Russia's borders." (07/05/2008)

» Cały przegląd prasy z dnia Środa, 7. Maj 2008

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