MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. While the Russian Federal Assembly, or parliament, should rightly have a say in forming Russia’s new cabinet, candidates for senior government positions are traditionally picked behind closed doors, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the aif.ru media outlet in an interview.
"Recruiting [government officials] is a rather confidential process. As you and I, or 87% of all Russians, voted for the [incumbent] head of state, we have given him a mandate, and the president then carries it out as he thinks fit. It is he who will select the team," the Russian presidential spokesman said, commenting on a potential government reshuffle.
By law, the cabinet resigns on the day that the head of state is inaugurated. "And after that, the president forms a new cabinet of ministers already under the new system in which parliament plays a greater role," Peskov added.