POZDNYAKOVO, Moscow Region, November 12 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin does not believe that the country’s political system has exhausted itself, but it must be developed.
“We do not think that it is all over, that it has exhausted itself, but we are in no mood of staying there where we are,” Putin said at a meeting with members of the discussion club Valdai on Friday.
About the latest report by the club, which had arrived at the conclusion that one of the most likely scenarios of Russia’s further development was the inertial one, with risks of stagnations, Putin said he strongly disagreed with that. He recalled that the past few years saw a considerable improvement in economic parameters and the social feeling of people and measures to maintain the country’s internal and external security. “If someone dislikes that, I am very sorry,” he added.
"But that does not mean that nothing should be changed, the world around us is changing, and we must change, we need to match the time", Putin said. He recalled that in recent years a planned reform of the political system was carried out and promised that the reforms would be continued. "We do not believe that this is the final step in the development of our political system, and we think about how to achieve a situation in which the people will feel greater connection with the authorities, cause a greater impact on the authorities, have a chance to count on feedback," explained Putin.
He acknowledged that he had heard criticism about the "operational government structure, called a tandem."
"But I want to draw your attention to the fact that no management system is perfect," he added.
Putin assured the Valdai club members that if he won the presidential election in 2012, his core values would ·· remain the same as those during the first terms. "In what way will Vladimir Vladimirovich-2 will be different from Vladimir Vladimirovich of the 2000-2008 presidencies?" asked Peter Guilford, of Ketchum. He remarked that just like a television series a politician like Putin must change from season to season and new storylines should be added to retain the audience’s interest.
"Vladimir Putin, as well as any of us here, does not bifurcate, it's still the same person," Putin said in response.
"I'm still the same man. There are basic things that cannot be changed and, since we are on the subject of the presidential election, I will allow myself to use a high style: they are such things as love of one’s country, striving for the maximum result to the benefit of its citizens, ensuring growth and prosperity based on economic growth, and internal and external security," Putin said. "But how to achieve this result? The opinion of my colleagues and my own is this - we need to change, because the world around us is changing, and this makes it necessary to change the means, methods and approaches to tackling problems," he concluded.