In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Russian president Vladimir Putin said this morning that a suggestion by ruling-party lawmakers that would see his presidential tenure reset, thus allowing him to run again in 2024, should be supported by citizens and adopted by the Constitutional Court.
“Putin needs to be there -- in case something goes wrong” amid global political and economic turbulence, Valentina Tereshkova, a respected lawmaker who was also the first woman in space, told the State Duma in a speech shown on state TV during debates on a constitutional overhaul put forward by the Kremlin.“If the situation requires it and, most importantly, if the people want it, to put in law the possibility for the current president to be re-elected to this position is already in accordance with the updated constitution.”
Interfax news service reported that in his address to the State Duma, the parliament’s lower house, Putin said:
“I believe and am deeply convinced that a strong presidential power is absolutely necessary for our country.”
Somewhat ironically, Putin also stressed that the public should have guarantees that elections – including presidential elections – are open and competitive.
Putin has said the plan is aimed at modernizing the basic law and that he plans to observe current term limits, which prevent him from running again. But the overhauls, abruptly announced in January, are widely seen as an effort to create options for Putin to retain control even after he steps down as president.
The removal of term limits and early-vote proposal would require constitutional amendments.
The Kremlin has set a national ballot to approve the constitutional changes for April 22.
‘Western ideologists will go crazy’: Putin leaves door open to run for president again
Putin's speech to the Russian parliament Tuesday seemed to be one of his most sincere: he argued that stable leadership is good for a country in turbulent times but does it mean we'll really see him in power beyond 2024.
Putin said Tuesday that he will seek a new term when his current one is up “only if it’s approved by the Constitutional Court and if citizens support such a proposal” when they vote for constitutional amendments on April 22.
He addressed the issue during a speech in parliament after MP and the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, called for his tenure to be reset so that he would be eligible for two more runs before being subject to the new restrictions, envisaged by the amendments.
The changes to Russia's principal law, among other things, include redistributing some powers away from the president to the parliament, banning state officials from having foreign citizenship and setting the minimum wage above the basic cost of living.
Putin is currently in his fourth term as Russian president, but he did not skirt the rules of the constitution to do it. He was the head of state first between 2000 and 2008 before switching to the position of prime minister for the next four years. He then successfully ran for president again in 2012 and has remained in the job since.
Under the current Russian Constitution, the president is restricted to two consecutive terms — and whether Putin will seek another term has intrigued Russian and foreign political analysts for years. There were many of those in Russia and abroad, who slammed his rule as “a regime” and wanted him out, but there were also plenty of those, who considered him “the best among the current world leaders” and called for him to stay in power.
“It's a very delicate trolling of our Western partners,” Aleksey Mukhin, the head of the Centre for Political Information said, commenting on Putin’s words about the possibility of running again in 2024. The very announcement of the planned constitutional amendments earlier this year caused a frenzy in the mainstream media — and was swiftly interpreted as Putin attempting to retain his grip on power.
Mukhin reminded that the president has said many times that he would not run in 2024, but “he left such an opportunity open for himself so that our Western partners remain on their toes.”
It's a very slick move, which will cause a strong negative reaction that will, however, be absolutely in vain.
Many in the West would, of course, be angry if Putin remains in office after 2024, despite the fact that this move will likely stabilize the situation in the international arena, political analyst, Dmitry Babich, suggested.
“Putin is consistent. It's clear what he's going to do. If you look closely – all of his harsh moves in recent years were only a response to even harsher moves by the West... not crisis situations created by Moscow,” Babich said.
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