Putin has no plans on retiring
Source: Agencies |
December 4, 2009, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
RUSSIAN Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, in power for over 10 years, ruled out a departure from politics yesterday, telling a questioner: "Don't hold your breath."
He made the comment with a smile when asked on his annual televised question-and-answer session with the Russian people if he would like to leave politics and start a quiet life.
Putin, 57, also said he "will think about" taking part in the 2012 presidential election, when many Russians expect him to return to the Kremlin for a six-year term.
Looking relaxed and confident, Putin said Russia had passed the peak of the economic crisis and reassured callers worried about job security, pensions and living standards.
Positive trends
"The economy has grown by an average of 0.5 percent per month over the last five months," Putin said in the session, broadcast live nationwide by state television and radio. "I'm counting on these positive trends in economic development becoming more significant in the middle of next year."
Putin's eighth annual phone-in showed the premier back on form after an uncharacteristically subdued performance last year amid the economic crisis.
Commenting on everything from Russia's football performance to the brand value of Lada cars, Putin showed the mastery of detail, firm command, trademark frankness and humor which has made him the country's most popular politician.
An increase in oil prices has pulled the Russian economy back from the brink of collapse this year but despite billions of dollars of government aid, Russia still lags far behind emerging market peers such as India and China.
Many questioners asked Putin about their jobs and their pensions, including workers in the town of Pikalyovo, which the premier visited in the summer to help a cement factory threatened with closure and scold its oligarch owner. "The situation in one-industry towns, including Pikalyovo, is under control," Putin said.
Asked why nobody was in jail for allowing the crisis to hit Pikalyovo, the prime minister said: "If we put everyone in jail, who would work?"
The session was conducted in a specially built Moscow studio with invited guests.
All questions were screened in advance and access to the Moscow studio and the video link-up locations was by invitation only.
He made the comment with a smile when asked on his annual televised question-and-answer session with the Russian people if he would like to leave politics and start a quiet life.
Putin, 57, also said he "will think about" taking part in the 2012 presidential election, when many Russians expect him to return to the Kremlin for a six-year term.
Looking relaxed and confident, Putin said Russia had passed the peak of the economic crisis and reassured callers worried about job security, pensions and living standards.
Positive trends
"The economy has grown by an average of 0.5 percent per month over the last five months," Putin said in the session, broadcast live nationwide by state television and radio. "I'm counting on these positive trends in economic development becoming more significant in the middle of next year."
Putin's eighth annual phone-in showed the premier back on form after an uncharacteristically subdued performance last year amid the economic crisis.
Commenting on everything from Russia's football performance to the brand value of Lada cars, Putin showed the mastery of detail, firm command, trademark frankness and humor which has made him the country's most popular politician.
An increase in oil prices has pulled the Russian economy back from the brink of collapse this year but despite billions of dollars of government aid, Russia still lags far behind emerging market peers such as India and China.
Many questioners asked Putin about their jobs and their pensions, including workers in the town of Pikalyovo, which the premier visited in the summer to help a cement factory threatened with closure and scold its oligarch owner. "The situation in one-industry towns, including Pikalyovo, is under control," Putin said.
Asked why nobody was in jail for allowing the crisis to hit Pikalyovo, the prime minister said: "If we put everyone in jail, who would work?"
The session was conducted in a specially built Moscow studio with invited guests.
All questions were screened in advance and access to the Moscow studio and the video link-up locations was by invitation only.
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