MOSCOW, December 6 (Itar-Tass) —— President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin summed up the election results on Monday.
Speaking at a meeting with the committee of his supporters, Medvedev summed up the election results and, at the same time, answered the traditional Russian question “Who is to blame?”, the Kommersant writes. According to the President, some governors were at fault. “I think we should pay attention to the regions, where people showed that they had no confidence in UR,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “This is not a tragedy, but a signal to the authorities. This means that the regional authorities are not working the way they should. This is the reason for drawing practical conclusions, and I am going to do that, using the powers of president. I have warned governors about such a possibility.”
Celebrating the victory of UR, Medvedev, who is on the top of its list of Duma candidates, told his supporters about the intention to further upgrade the political system of the country, The Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. In his opinion, “we should master new technologies and associate directly with people.” The leaders admit that the main problem facing UR is the loss of majority in the cities, “where policy is actually shaped.” “We are losing the cities, where policy is actually shaped. We have not found a way to the urban population,” said a source in the Duma. He believes that the orientation of the local administrations to pensioners and servicemen, and insufficient attention to other sections of the population was a mistake made by UR.
According to the information of the source, problems with the implementation of the reforms in the Armed Forces and the police were one of the reasons for the present-day reduction of the UR rating. He believes, however, the results UR got were rather good for the situation in which UR and the country in general found itself.
“UR got exactly what it should get, no more and no less, and in this respect the elections were absolutely honest, just and democratic,” The RBK Daily quoted the words of the President. At the same time, he said that violations at the elections should be analyzed. The newspaper believes it is a clear signal to the Central Electoral Commission. Aside from it, Medvedev rebuked those who voted on Sunday not for UR, but for Communists, although previously those people were believed to have liberal views. It followed from his explanations that in Russia this obvious defect is the result of “imperfect political structure of society” and some “ideological complications.” The President was probably hinting at the bloggers, who called for protest voting.
Summing up the election results, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pointed to the contribution made by government officials and to the activity of the population. He said that UR had been a major part of the foundation of stability over the past few years, and “its successful performance at the elections was important for the country in general,” The Rossiiskaya Gazeta writes. The results, obtained by the ruling party, permit it to “work peacefully and rhythmically,” Putin believes. 226 votes are needed in the Duma for the adoption of a law, while UR will have 238 votes, the newspaper stresses.