Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will step down as leader of the United Russia party after he returns to the presidency on May 7 and is proposing outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev, expected to become prime minister, for the job.
Speaking to senior party activists Tuesday, Putin said Medvedev should head United Russia because he already headed the party's list for last December's State Duma elections and because he plans to nominate him as head of the government, Interfax reported. He argued that it is worldwide practice that the government relies on a parliamentary majority.
The move means that Putin and Medvedev will not only swap their government jobs but also their relative position toward the country's ruling party. Medvedev announced last September that he was ceding the presidency to Putin, who in turn promised to make Medvedev prime minister.
Putin has headed United Russia since April 2008, when he agreed to become party chairman without actually joining it. At the time this was seen as a move to shore up his political power after moving from the presidency to the post of prime minister.
Putin said Tuesday that political practice dictates that the president is a non-party figure.
"The constitution does not ban the president from being a member of a party, but in the spirit of our politics the president is a consolidating figure for all political forces for all citizens," he was quoted as saying by Interfax.
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