Just not young
The Kremlin is apparently looking for “competitors” for Putin
08/28/2023, 7:28 p.m
Russia’s President Putin still wants to be properly elected. The Kremlin administration is probably already thinking about possible “sparring partners” so that the elections can be carried out in his interests. A decisive criterion: age. After all, Putin should shine.
The Kremlin administration is apparently already thinking about possible “sparring partners” who will “compete” with Vladimir Putin in the 2024 presidential elections. Like the Russian exile portal “Meduza” citing Kremlin sources, one of the main criteria for their selection is age. There should be no politicians under the age of 50 among the registered candidates. Otherwise, it could lead voters to think that 70-year-old Putin “is no longer the man who came to power with a firm hand.”
They probably still called him “father”: In August 2009, Putin tugged at the reins of a horse.
(Photo: picture alliance/AP Photo)
Several regional officials and members of the United Russia party, which is behind Putin, told Meduza that Russians have recently been concerned about Putin’s age. As a high-ranking party member says, they would ask themselves: “Isn’t it time to think about a successor? Maybe it’s time to rest? Maybe a new look is needed?”
Officials who used to call Putin “boss” or “dad” now mostly refer to him as “grandfather.” However, an interlocutor close to the Kremlin reassured: “Grandfather, that’s not negative. He’s that age.”
According to “Meduza”, the presidential administration assumes that three parties will nominate candidates. One of Putin’s possible opponents could again be Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov. At 79, he should be the right age to let Putin shine. According to a source quoting “Meduza”, the following also speaks for him: “Zyuganov is used to the president, he has a high status as party leader, his last name is familiar to every voter.” At the same time, its electorate is limited – the old-fashioned communist electorate. “He will not attract any new voters,” it continues. According to the independent Levada polling institute, Zyuganov is currently at 3 percent in polls. In the 2008 presidential election, Zyuganov received 18.5 percent of the vote, in 2012 it was 17.7 percent.
Such stable poll numbers are obviously important to the Kremlin and its boss. The report goes on to say that it is planned for Putin to achieve a “record result” in the coming elections. The turnout is said to be over 70 percent, and Putin himself is said to receive more than 80 percent of the votes.