The first 100 days of Vladimir Putin's tenure as president and Dmitry Medvedev's as prime minister demonstrated that the re-formatted tandem is viable, especially in critical situations, political analysts say.
"The roles have been re-distributed within the tandem, of course, and the situation, where many saw Putin as the number one figure, while formally Medvedev was, has disappeared. Concerning interaction, no serious signs of setbacks are visible in their interaction. The tandem usually acts in a concerted manner, at least in critical situations," Polity Foundation President and lawmaker Vyacheslav Nikonov told Interfax.
The reformatting of the tandem means that both Putin and Medvedev are confident in its efficiency, he said. "Both Putin and Medvedev are interested in mutual support: two can do much more than one. At certain moments Medvedev does the work Putin could have done. For instance, Medvedev attended the recent G8 summit and Putin stayed. Their relations have been harmonious thus far," he said.
Even the film, The Lost Day, recently shown online about the events in South Ossetia in 2008, did not manage to mar these harmonious relations, the analyst said.
"I hear some took the film as an attempt to drive a wedge between Putin and Medvedev. Perhaps that was so. It is difficult to say where this is coming from," he said.
The film showed ex-General Staff chief Yury Baluyevsky claiming that the decision to launch the peace enforcement operation was made too late, which led to more fatalities. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev argued, however, that the decision to launch a counter strike was made just ontime. "All the decisions made, were made precisely when they should have been made," he told reporters in Tskhinvali on August 8, 2012.
Interfax
Photo: RIA Novosti
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