JRL NEWSWATCH: “Volodin proposes expansion of Duma powers” – Bear Market Brief

“… Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin is lobbying for constitutional changes … [to] expand the power of the Duma in an attempt to improve the relative balance of power and checks and balances within government …. The Kremlin is actively downplaying talk, likely trying to head off any progress so it can shape outcomes. Nothing Volodin could propose would fix the lack of checks and balances … but even virtual changes can become material in the right political context given how much informality defines Russian institutions. Watch this development if Putin’s ratings remain lower for longer and something beyond adding new key performance indicators (KPIs) for government performance makes sense. … The last major constitutional change took effect … [in] 2008, extending presidential [and Duma] terms ….”

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