13 December 2011

RUSSIA: Is Medvedev "Toast"? Will Putin's Image Revamp...Include A Dmitry Discard?

                                         BLOOMBERG

     Historic unrest across Russia after the recent election has many observers speculating about PM Putin's moves to shore-up his support (still around 60%)...and image....in the 3 months before the presidential election.
     Many now believe that Putin will shed President Dmitry Medvedev.
     “It’s a very unpopular deal,” said the author of “Vladimir Putin, The German in the Kremlin." “People don’t want this tandem to run the country. It would be wise for Putin to choose a new premier, but he can’t talk about it yet because Medvedev is still in power and might repudiate the deal.”
     Another claims that Medvedev “is basically toast. There’s no chance Medvedev will stay on as prime minister, but they can’t just discard him as a member of the inner circle and will find something nice and meaningless for him to do.”