Thread: Russian Presidential Elections 2012: Commentary in Russian and English

What makes you think that?

Would Putin really allow that to happen? If he could not stop it, what do you think he would do?
I mean, he would officially be president, representing that party, right?

Is this a common opinion?

+1
How did they fail?

France had 7 years for 1 presidental term, no?

5 years.

That depends on whether he would want to stay for the second (fourth ) term.

It doesn't. He can take another post, prime-ministre for example.

Originally Posted by Marcus

Well you can't imagine how anti-Russia everything was in the English speaking countries during the Cold War. You know - films, books, news, everything. It'll probably take a full generation for them to get that out of their system. It's a topic for another thread, really. They really thought that Russians were totally devilish.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Well you can't imagine how anti-Russia everything was in the English speaking countries during the Cold War. You know - films, books, news, everything. It'll probably take a full generation for them to get that out of their system. It's a topic for another thread, really. They really thought that Russians were totally devilish.

Yes, but BBC journalists were those who created this propaganda, not those who were to be affected by it.

(Deleted. L.)

Originally Posted by Hanna

What makes you think that?

Would Putin really allow that to happen? If he could not stop it, what do you think he would do?

Originally Posted by Marcus

+1
How did they fail?

It will be Putin who will make it happen. Shortly before the Duma elections Putin officially made it very clear that he and United Russia are not even related.
United Russia is like that old relative which has a very scandalous public reputation but you have to stamd by and wear that stupid smile to cover the awkward moment. As soon as he gets the chance I think Putin would completely severe all connections with the UR and disband the whole thing. Some key figures will migrate into a new political formation but the rest will be sent home.

Originally Posted by Hanna

I mean, he would officially be president, representing that party, right?

Yes, he is officially a leader of that party (without being its member) but he's not very happy about it, not to mention that many party members have actually betrayed him and supported ВалюТанюТолю (tm) instead. Quite a few members of the United Russia are secretly or not so secretly oppose him.
Why does he need such a party? It served its purpose, now it's a burden he would like to throw off.
That's why he created the All-Russia People's Front last year. He did that because he wasn't so sure in United Russia anymore.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Is this a common opinion?

Not quite common, you might even say that it's just me

Originally Posted by Hanna

For real?! That's apalling! If that was some kind of cynical joke it was rather unprofessional. Embassy staff are public officials after all. Did she ask them to clarify exactly what they were referring to?

Hah, no, I was kidding, in the spirit of the jokey poster in the post preceding mine.

I knew I should have added "badum-tsh" at the end.

Elections in the UK were for a parliamentary period of seven years before 2002. If elections took place before this it was because the calling of an election was at the discretion of the government, and the government saw to it that it called an election at a time advantageous to itself. And these elections were lightning affairs - very short campaigns. This led to "snap elections" called at very short notice.
The government still had discretion to call elections when it liked after 2002. But in November last year this discretion was ended with the introduction of Fixed-Term Parliaments.
Thanks to the "first-past-the-post" constituency system in Britain there have often been governments with parliamentary majorities that received less votes than the biggest opposition party. Imagine the stink if Putin tried to create an electoral system as rotten and rigged as this in Russia!
I've noticed a lot of commentators sneering at a president elected by less than 50% of the voters. But this is the norm in most European countries as far as I know. It's very unusual for a presidential election to be decided in the first round. Eg very recently in Finland.
Another aspect of slanted reporting - sudden and disproportionate emphasis on things normally ignored when they occur at home or in allied countries - is the orchestrated wailing of the media in Sweden (where I live) about corruption and violence suddenly increasing in Russia in the run-up to the election. As if it materialized out of nowhere. Democratic, squeaky-clean Russia suddenly going bad because of Putin. You'd almost think the Muslims are reaching their best-by date as bogey-men and it's time to resuscitate the traditional Russian-Soviet-Russian bogeyman again.
One thing all this shows is that Russia is once more claiming its rightful place in the International Community as a thief among thieves.

Originally Posted by Xjy

Elections in the UK were for a parliamentary period of seven years before 2002. If elections took place before this it was because the calling of an election was at the discretion of the government, and the government saw to it that it called an election at a time advantageous to itself. And these elections were lightning affairs - very short campaigns. This led to "snap elections" called at very short notice.
The government still had discretion to call elections when it liked after 2002. But in November last year this discretion was ended with the introduction of Fixed-Term Parliaments.

That's not the best bit. The best bit is that any future government (with a Commons majority) could simply repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act and then trigger a general election anyway, so it's literally not worth the paper it's written on.

Though I have to say, short election campaigns are one of the few things I do like about the British electoral system.

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