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Russia's Premier: Putin No Authoritarian Leader
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov laughed off suggestions on Saturday that President Vladimir Putin was an authoritarian leader and said the country needs a strong government to overcome its problems.
Putin's plans to tighten the Kremlin's grip on the world's largest country and use of his favourite phrase "the dictatorship of the law" have been taken by some commentators as a sign that the ex-KGB spy aims at taking on dictatorial powers.
Kasyanov, as Putin has done himself, denied such suggestions, saying Russia would continue on a market-oriented, democratic path.
"There is no sign that authoritarianism prevails in our country," Kasyanov said.
"When we speak about strengthening power in the country, it is completely different. Our life and the problems we have lived through show that the (older) system of government should be improved."
Putin, whose no-nonsense reputation for getting things done got him elected earlier this year by a people sick of political deadlock and disorder, has said he hopes only to improve the way the country is run.
One of Putin's main wishes has to be to cultivate accord between the two houses of parliament and the Kremlin -- a policy threatened by a recent veto by the upper house of his bill to radically change the way the country is ruled.
The bill, which would strip Russia's mighty governors of their seats in the Federation Council, calls for the deepest changes to the way the country is ruled since Boris Yeltsin enacted the current constitution in 1993.
Kasyanov shrugged off the veto in the Federation Council, saying cooperation would no doubt continue.
"Today we live in a rather favourable situation when we find that we have a constructive dialogue with the Duma and the Federation Council," Kasyanov said.
"This is political stability and an atmosphere of political trust. A mutual desire to help each other exists and I want to hope that we will continue in the same way."
He said cooperation between the different decision-making bodies would also help improve Russia's economy, which has been given a boost in recent months from high prices for its commodities and oil exports.
"Only half of the positive changes (in Russia) are due to favourable situation on the world market," Kasyanov, who presented a well-received new economic programme to the government last week, said.
"The other half is linked to fundamental changes in the structure of our economy...This growth will solve our deep problems."
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