Kasyanov sees liberal rhetoric in Putin’s message but doubts its implementation

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Cochairman of PARNAS opposition party and former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov has said he agrees with many proposals made by President Vladimir Putin in his Wednesday message to the Federal Assembly but is not sure that all of them will be implemented.

“A significant part of Putin’s speech was predictable. Just a year ago I said that he will start using liberal rhetoric. And as far as the economy is concerned, Putin assumed the position of liberal-democratic development,” he said to Interfax.

“It is good that it was recognized that the economic model based on raw materials has been exhausted and that competition should be the main thing and that Putin is against state capitalism,” Kasyanov said.

Besides, he praised the fact that in his message Putin emphasized the renunciation of the accusatory tendency in the judicial system.

“One can also positively evaluate his promise to think of the possibility of setting up election alliances, and the declaration that all parties should be guaranteed access to the media. These are two positive aspects of the political part of the message,” he said.

At the same time, in Kasyanov’s opinion “the message contained clear nostalgia for the Soviet Union.”

“But again summing up, many good and important words were said, but they were only words. Let’s live and see how everything is going to be implemented, especially as Putin demonstrated a clear deficit of resolution to change the political direction fast,” the former prime minister concluded.