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Russian President Vladimir Putin waves as he leaves after the Victory Day Parade in Red Square in Moscow, Russia June 24, 2020. Photo: Reuters
Opinion
Editorial
by SCMP Editorial
Editorial
by SCMP Editorial

Vladimir Putin must now live up to expectations

  • President on course for life term after Russian voters back parliamentary decision in country seeking strength amid uncertainty and longing for stability
SCMP Editorial
SCMP Editorial
Why you can trust SCMP
A world of uncertainties, from geopolitics to the economic and health impacts of Covid-19, is bound to have people searching for stability. Russians would appear to have opted for that in a vote on a package of changes to the constitution that includes an amendment allowing President Vladimir Putin to stay in office until 2036, should he wish. He has already held the leadership as president or prime minister for more than 20 years, so outside the country the decision is being widely perceived as fulfilling an ambition to stay in power for life. But while he is often not trusted – and is even disliked – in the West, he is popular at home and, in a nation with myriad challenges, many Russians want to be led by a strong and predictable hand.
Putin did not need to go before voters to be able to run for two more six-year presidential terms when his current one ends in 2024; a parliamentary decision was sufficient. But he wanted legitimacy for the changes and to shore up support for the political system at a troubling time for Russia. The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on an economy already struggling as a result of sharp declines in the price of oil, the nation’s financial lifeblood. With the constitutional alterations also including promises of better state support for citizens, the 77.9 per cent approval of voters was unsurprising, making the cries of foul by critics ring hollow.

The Russian leader is not the first to benefit from the removal of term limits, of course; in 2018, President Xi Jinping was effectively cleared to hold the position indefinitely when the National People’s Congress scrapped a two-term constitutional cap. If a nation has faith in a leader’s policies and will benefit from them being fully implemented, such changes would seem worthwhile, even necessary. For Russia, Putin’s grip on power has been such that there is no obvious successor and he is widely perceived as the political glue that prevents infighting among elites. That has enabled him to contend he can guarantee stability.

Whether that is true or not, he has certainly cultivated an image of strength that Russians are eager for amid so much uncertainty. While outsiders may view him as power-hungry, those within Russia see him as a leader they can rely and depend on.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Putin must now live up to expectations
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