| Other Photos |
 |
|
 |
Grasping All, Losing All
Prompted by Vladimir V. Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov went on the fifth regional tour over the last three weeks. The thing is that by 2008, Fradkov has to split up the central and regional power so that the Cabinet could turn into the regions’ supervisor and the political vertical could have the business upright nearby.
Mikhail Fradkov, who visited lots of foreign countries but only four regions of Russia in the first year and a half of his premiership, appears to have been committed to domestic tours now. Lipetsk has become his fifth local trip over the last 20 days, and Murmansk expects the prime minister already on October 10, 2005.
Fradkov vowed in Lipetsk on Tuesday to teach the bureaucrats by his personal example, as “the officials have to focus more on the problems of the citizens.” But the real priority is far from arranging tutorial for the state officers.
Also yesterday, it was announced a commission on improving cooperation between the federal and regional authorities had been set up. The strength of Fradkov-headed commission is also significant, for its members are Sergey Naryshkin, head of the government's staff, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev, other key ministers of the Cabinet, spokesmen of the president’s administration and some governors. The prerogative power of the new body is really wide, including analysis of results of authority transfer from the federal executive bodies to the regional executive bodies of Russia’s constituents on the one hand, and of transfer of some fraction of state authority to the local self-government bodies on the other. In other words, the commission will be continuously supervising the regions and their executive bodies and become a foundation for the second, business upright built up next to the political vertical of “the president-governors” interaction.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced creation of executive power vertical a year ago, in the wake of Beslan tragedy. Then, the Kremlin abolished the governors’ election to gain compete control over political sentiment in the regions. But there is no way to subdue political machinery without keeping an eye on the money flow in the regions.
The new concept that the Kremlin is elaborating now will turn the federal government into a so-called supervisor of regional governments and commission’s creation is the first step en route to it.
And what is more, starting from 2008, the federal government will retain only two key functions (less the national security, of course). It will focus on coordinating the work of the regional governments and on supervising the activities of the latter, said Russian president’s aide Igor Shuvalov. In case of need and as the measure of last resort, the second function extends to annulment of local resolutions and to introducing direct ruling of the federal center in the regions.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 05, 2005
|
|
|
