The Speaker of the Russian Senate keeps playing Marc Antony who is famous for his numerous attempts to make Caesar a king of Rome. And it seems that Putin plays up to him with the greatest pleasure. Constantly refusing Mironov’s proposals for the third term he still consolidates an indisputable authority. But the most intriguing is that the denouemen of the modern drama is also expected in March, as presidential election is scheduled for March, 2008. It’s well known, how Caesar has paid for his hypocrisy. Well, the next March can become the new Ides of March.
Sergey M. Mironov, the speaker of the Senate (upper house of the ) and the leader of A Just Russia (Spravedlivaya Rossiya) supposed changing the constitution to repeal a two-term limit on holding the presidency and to extend the presidential mandate from four to five or even seven years. That could allow president to stay in office for more than 20 years in a row.
The constitution can be changed only by referendum or by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Federal Assembly. In the last autumn the CEC dismissed the initiative to hold the referendum on this issue and pointed out that the effective law forbade one person to stand for position of president for the third consecutive time.
Boris Gryzlov, the speaker of the Duma (lower house), and the leader of Unified Russia (Yedinaya Rossiya) said that the Duma’s majority would not support such amendments and would stand in defense of the constitution. Mironov responded that this position had not amazed him and added sarcastically that he submitted this proposal, because “somebody wants to put Vladimir Putin out to pasture and take all solutions, appoint governors by himself.”
Soon a Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, slapped down the Mironov’s proposal. He announced that the president has repeatedly commented on the issue, and his position remains unchanged.
The Reuters Agency quotes the director of the National Strategy Institute in Moscow, Stanislav Belkovsky: "constitutional reform is inevitable," and "the reform will not concern Putin who is to leave at the latest in the spring 2008, but the next president." “Mironov has taken a position of a follower of constitutional amendments in the Post-Putin Russia” - that is Belkovsky’s opinion, - “It is too late to provide all this changes to allow Putin to stay.”
Vladimir Pribylovsky, head of the Panorama Information’s and Research Center, shares the opinion that Mironov doesn’t reckon that his proposal will be provided in current Putin’s presidency.
“I think, Putin will leave his post in the time and some “puppet president”, e.g. Mironov, will take his place” - said Pribylovsky, - soon he will retire and Putin will get a possibility to be elected again quite legally. By that time all necessary amendments will be provided and Putin will get three terms 5-7 years long.
