MOSCOW, September 25 (Itar-Tass) —— In contrast to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin who said he would not work in the government of Dmitry Medvedev if the current president becomes the prime minister after the 2012 election, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said he would like to keep his job.
“I believe I will succeed to complete all the projects I began in 2008 when I was invited to the government. There were no failures,” he told a press conference on Sunday.
However Shuvalov admitted he may be offered another job. “I am like a soldier and will work where they tell me,” he added.
Although Kudrin said he would not work in the new government because of disagreements with Medvedev over substantial increases in defense appropriations and social expenditure, Shuvalov said the finance minister would definitely remain in the team of Vladimir Putin.
“He will definitely remain in the team. He will have a possibility to strengthen the economy and the financial sphere of the country in any configuration which will be determined by him and the leaders,” Shuvalov said.
On Saturday Medvedev and Putin ended the intrigue about who of them would run for president and said they planned to swap jobs after the 2012 presidential election.
Shuvalov admitted the tandem did not consult government members about the decision. “We did not know that. Nobody knew what they would announce. They did not discuss it with us. It was a talk between them. But we could imagine such a scenario was possible,” he said.
Shuvalov said it was good the tandem had finally disclosed who would run for president. “I believe we can now quietly get down to professional duties,” he said adding it is yet necessary to ensure Putin’s victory in the election.
“We have to show to the voters what has been done in the past years. And a lot has been done,” he said.
He also assured the government is ready to counter new challenges and crises.
“The information coming from the United States, the Eurozone, and Asia shows the coming years will be very complicated for the world economy. The Russian government has responses to the situation. We are ready. We have the adequate remedies,” Shuvalov said and recalled the government actions in the crisis of 2008-2009.
“We designed possible steps in case new situations develop unfavorably,” he said.
“The structure has been created, there are financial resources to counter financial challenges, and authorities know exactly which institutions to engage. They are not only the instruments of the government and the finance ministry, but also of the Central Bank,” he said.