Russian minister ousted after ‘Putin installation objection’
He fell on his sword after clashing with Russian
President:
Russia: Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin was ousted on Monday
after rebelling against a plan to install President Dmitry Medvedev as
prime minister when Vladimir Putin returns to the Kremlin in 2012.
Kudrin fell on his sword following an unprecedented televised clash
with Medvedev where the president angrily accused him of making
“unseemly” comments and said his only option was to resign.
The respected minister is the first top official to be forced out in
connection with the scheme announced at the weekend for Putin, currently
prime minister, and Medvedev to swap jobs after March 2012 presidential
elections.
The resignation brought a dramatic end to Kudrin’s career as finance
minister, which started in 2000 and saw him become the longest serving
finance minister of any world power.
“The president of the Russian Federation signed the decree on the
resignation of Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin,” the Kremlin said in a
statement on its website.
In an extraordinary public dressing-down of the kind not seen in
Russia for years, Medvedev told Kudrin that his comments were
unacceptable and he had until the end of the day to decide whether to
resign.
“Alexei Leonidovich — if you do not agree with the policy of the
president, which is executed by the government, then you have one option
and you know what it is — to resign,” Medvedev told Kudrin in comments
broadcast on the main evening news.
Appearing to tackle head-on the idea that he was a lame duck after
the weekend’s drama, Medvedev added: “No one cancelled discipline and
subordination in the government ... Any irresponsible chatterbox will
have to cross me.” Barely flinching, Kudrin told Medvedev that “I do
indeed have differences with you.”
The minister had at the weekend told reporters in the United States
he could not imagine serving in a government led by Medvedev, with whom
he had “differences” over the management of the economy.
He accused the president of seeking to ramp up spending — in
particular on the military — to the detriment of Russia’s budgetary
position. AFP
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