NEWS,07.05.2012.

Putin sworn in as Russia's president

 

Vladimir Putin appealed for unity in Russia after being sworn in as president today, pledging to strengthen democracy in his new six-year term.In a glittering ceremony, was inaugurated before nearly 2000 guests in the Kremlin's St Andrew Hall, before being blessed by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church."I will do all I can to justify the faith of millions of our citizens. I consider it to be the meaning of my whole life and my obligation to serve my fatherland and our people," Putin said in a brief speech."We will achieve our goals if we are a single, united people - if we hold our fatherland dear, strengthen Russian democracy, constitutional rights and freedoms."Putin, who was president of the former Soviet republic from 2000-2008 is returning to Russia's highest office after four years as prime minister, said he and the Russian people had already trodden a "difficult path" together."We believed in ourselves and in our powers, strengthened the country and restored the dignity of our great nation. The world has seen Russia reborn, and this is the result of the efforts of our people - shared, intensive work in which everyone has made a personal contribution."He praised Dmitry Medvedev, the ally he steered into the Kremlin when he faced a bar on a third straight term in 2008 and who is set to become prime minister in a job swap that has angered many Russians who are tired of the same leaders."Today we have everything we need to move forward and create a dynamic and developing state: A stable economic and social basis, an active and responsible civil society," Putin said. "I see in this a great service on the part of Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev.".A few kilometres across Moscow, several thousand people staged a rally supporting Putin, seen by his backers as the only leader capable of defending Russia's interests on the world stage and the guardian of the economy at home.While Putin's critics have tired of a political system that concentrates power in one man, many of his supporters welcome his domination of the country of more than 140 million."Democracy is the power of the majority. Russia is everything, the rest is nothing!" Alexander Dugin, a Kremlin-aligned nationalist, told the pro-Putin crowd.The rival rallies underlined the rifts opened by Putin's return to the Kremlin and protests that were sparked by allegations of electoral fraud but fuelled by many Russians' frustration that one man continues to dominate the country.Although the protests had lost momentum before Sunday's rally, they have given birth to a civil society, two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, that is gradually chipping away at Putin's authority.Putin, who will be 60 in October, grew up in Soviet days and worked as a spy in communist East Germany, is under pressure to show he can adapt to the new political landscape. Few think he has changed much - if at all.Putin has eased up on the choreographed macho antics that burnished his image at his peak in Russia, such as riding horseback barechested and shooting a tiger with a tranquiliser gun.Harder to shake off will be his habit of seeking total control and learning to cope with political opponents and a middle class demanding more political freedom.He has to quell rivalries between liberals and conservatives battling for positions in the new cabinet under Medvedev, who is swapping jobs with Putin. The outcome of the struggle could help determine how far reforms go to improve the investment climate.The $1.9 trillion economy is in better shape than in most European countries but is vulnerable to any change in the price of oil, Russia's main export commodity. The budget is under pressure from Putin's lavish election spending promises.Putin has said he wants to attract more foreign investment by improving the business climate, reduce corruption and red tape, and end Russia's heavy dependence on energy exports. He has not spelled out how he will do this.Putin is likely, as in the past, to use tough anti-Western rhetoric on foreign policy to drum up support if times get tough in Russia. But he has never yielded his strong influence over foreign policy as premier, so a major policy shift is unlikely.

Socialist Hollande ousts Sarkozy in French vote

 

 

Francois Hollande was elected France's first Socialist president in nearly two decades on Sunday, dealing a humiliating defeat to incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and shaking up European politics.The result will have major implications for Europe as it struggles to emerge from a financial crisis and for France, the eurozone's second-largest economy and a nuclear-armed permanent member of the UN Security Council.Hollande won the vote with about 52 percent, according to several estimates from polling firms based on ballot samples, becoming France's first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995.Joyful crowds gathered in Hollande's adopted hometown of Tulle and in Paris to celebrate his victory."We are rid of a poison that was blighting our society. A normal president! It gives us a lot to dream about," said Didier Stephan, a 70-year-old artist who was among throngs of supporters at Paris's Place de la Bastille.Even before polls closed and broadcasters released estimates, supporters were chanting "President Hollande!" and "We Won!" at the iconic square.Sarkozy urged leaders of his right-wing UMP party to remain united after his defeat, but warned he would not lead it into June's parliamentary elections, according to political sources present at a meeting at his headquarters.Hollande led in opinion polls throughout the campaign and won the April 22 first round with 28.6 percent to Sarkozy's 27.2 percent -- making the right-winger the first-ever incumbent to lose in the first round.Grey skies and rain showers greeted voters across much of France, but turnout was high, hitting 71.96 percent at 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) according to interior ministry figures. More than 46 million people were eligible to vote.The election was marked by fears over European Union-imposed austerity and economic globalisation, and Hollande has said his first foreign meeting will be with German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- the key driver of EU budget policy.The 57-year-old Socialist has vowed to renegotiate the hard-fought fiscal austerity pact signed by EU leaders in March and to make it focus more on growth, but is facing resistance from Merkel.The French vote coincides with an election in Greece, where voters were also expected to punish the incumbent parties for landing the country in its bleak economic state.Anger over sputtering economies has brought down leaders from Ireland to Portugal since the debt crisis washed over the European continent.