- MOSCOW (Reuters) - President
Vladimir Putin, without a serious rival and buoyed by a huge parliament
majority, urged Russia's newly elected lawmakers on Monday to back his
policies aimed at speeding economic growth and lifting living standards.
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- After horse-trading, Putin's main backers -- the United
Russia bloc -- secured two-thirds of the 450 seats in the lower house to
give him a majority to change the constitution if he wants to stand for
a third term.
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- Putin, 51, a former KGB spy who was catapulted into the
Kremlin top job in May 2000, has already said he does not want either a
third term or to change the constitution.
-
- But with Putin loyalists now massively outgunning the
communist opposition in the State Duma he has a rock-solid powerbase to
rely on should he change his mind in future.
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- Addressing the Duma, Putin repeated his priorities were
to speed up economic growth -- he has set a target of doubling gross domestic
product over 10 years -- and reform Russia's crumbling social infrastructure.
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- "Above all, we must concentrate our attention on
issues linked to the quality of life... I'm talking here about continuing
to reshape the system of education, health care, housing and the legal
base," he said.
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- The hugely popular Putin has announced he will stand
for a second four-year term in the Kremlin in elections on March 14.
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- His high ratings have blown traditional rivals out of
the water and several have pulled out of the contest altogether.
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- HORSE-TRADING
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- United Russia and two nationalist parties backing Putin
won heavily in the parliamentary election on December 7.
-
- But it was only after political horse-trading on Monday
in the first session of the newly elected Duma that the full scale of his
election victory became clear.
-
- Several deputies who had stood as independents registered
under the United Russia banner, giving the bloc a total of 300 seats.
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- The outcome gave Putin a solid powerbase from which to
exercise more power and authority with which to push through policies and
reforms.
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- Putin reminded legislators of their responsibility for
reforming Russia's economy, which is heavily dependent on oil production.
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- "Economic progress in Russia, the growth of real
democracy and the living standards of our citizens will depend on you to
a great degree," he said.
-
- He said growth depended on developing the financial,
tax and banking system and strengthening the rights of ownership.
-
- Analysts say it is difficult to see how the Putin phenomenon
can be dented. But they say there could always be surprises if world oil
prices dropped suddenly, making it difficult for the country to service
its huge debt burden and stick by ambitious social programs.
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- Putin maintained his usual deadpan delivery and did not
refer to the absence of the liberal opposition that was virtually wiped
out in the December 7 elections.
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- Earlier this month he said he regretted the disappearance
from the Duma of the small liberal parties. Much of the expertise for pushing
through vital reform legislation has come from these parties.
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- Apart from United Russia's 300 seats, the ultra-nationalist
Liberal Democratic Party of Vladimir Zhirinovsky and the socialist-nationalist
Motherland (Rodina) party -- both of which will give Kremlin policies broad
support -- took 36 seats each.
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- The communist party, now the only organized parliamentary
opposition after the eclipse of the liberal opposition, had 52 seats.
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