From the MT:
“Russia Eyes Making Former
Presidents Senators for Life”
Russian presidents could be made
senators for life when they leave office under a proposed reform, a senior
lawmaker said on Tuesday, a status that would give them immunity from
prosecution. The initiative, drawn up by a government commission, follows
sweeping changes to Russia's political system proposed last month by President
Vladimir Putin. Putin's proposals, which were accompanied by a government
reshuffle, would shift power away from the presidency and were widely seen as
being designed to help him extend his grip on power after he leaves the
presidency in 2024.m The lower house of parliament backed the changes in a
preliminary vote last month. The commission's proposals will also be put to a
vote. Among them is a suggestion presidents become lawmakers for life in the
upper house of parliament once their terms in the Kremlin end or they resign,
Pavel Krasheninnikov, the working group's deputy head, said, Interfax reported.
Under Russian law, lawmakers in the lower and upper houses of parliament are
immune to criminal prosecution. Krasheninnikov said the idea had been put
forward by members of the working group and was based on their study of upper
houses of parliament in other countries. He did not say the move was meant to
shield former presidents from criminal prosecution. He said it would allow
Russia to tap into the "colossal experience and knowledge" of former
presidents. The commission has already
put forward an array of other proposals, including one that would change
Putin’s job description to Supreme Ruler. Before they become law, the
constitutional amendments must be approved by the lower house of parliament in
two further votes before being voted on by the upper house, examined by
regional parliaments, and then signed by Putin. Putin has said the changes
would be put to a nationwide vote, but it is unclear when that could take
place.
^ This is just a way for Putin to
leave office and not have any of the countless Russian officials and Russian
influential people go after him. Putin has stayed in power so long because he knows
everyone else’s secrets and has used that to keep them in line. Now he is
worried that they will turn on him when he has to leave office. ^
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