In his 4 hours and 36 minutes long televised call-in show Thursday, Premier Vladimir Putin confirmed that a system of elected governors is on the agenda in the Russian White House.
Putin said that both himself and President Medvedev agree that the time has come for the reintroduction of the regional elections, Izvestia reports. -We have to look at this [now] and not postpone it for ten years, Putin said after the TV show. –We have to have a live discussion about this in the State Duma, we have to think about the details, but not to put the [idea] in a box for a long time, he added.
Talking at the press conference following this week´s EU-Russia Summit, also President Medvedev confirmed an interest in looking closer at the idea.
However, the re-introduction of governors´ elections might not necessary mean the re-introduction of direct popular elections. According to Putin, the candidates for governor should first be approved by the regional parliament, as well as by the President himself, before they are allowed to run.
