Dangerous job

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Kommersant

Fresh, non-trivial political story from Omsk: all candidates for the office of mayor refused to compete for the post. Direct election of the mayor in the city cancelled, elected mayor members of the city Council. Initially, the post had 20 applicants, but the majority of them screened out in the application process. And now the main surprise is considered the main contender for the post of Deputy Chairman of the government of Omsk region Stanislav Grebenshchikov 13 APR unexpectedly withdrew from the elections with the wording “for health reasons”. A few days later recused himself and the last candidate on a post of the head of the entrepreneur Andrey Yaroshevich.

Now the elections the city Council may declare a mistrial. That, in turn, says a local political crisis.

It is not surprising, because the mayor is rapidly losing political weight in the last decade. Mayors actively planted, then revoked direct elections and transferred powers of city managers, which have been de facto appointees of the local elite.

And now the post is often just not taken seriously: the risks outweigh the political weight.

Or another example is the current political reality: Yevgeny Roizman declares gubernatorial ambition. He will compete with Yevgeny Kuyvashev, the current Governor of the Sverdlovsk region. It is difficult to say whether the Kremlin to stare blankly at the activity Roizman. Most likely not, and the opportunity to influence his nomination from Moscow are available: in the end, nobody cancelled the municipal filter and run for a governorship candidate from the side is very difficult, if not impossible. But the revival in the Sverdlovsk region in the regional elections will be unique. Though, because the rejection of the popular in regional center policy will affect the balance of power.

Their hands here and there, the Federal center animates political life in the regions.

Ten years ago, to imagine a criminal case against the Governor was difficult, today the governors are arrested almost on an industrial scale.

Already, the former Governor of Sakhalin region, Komi Republic, Kirov region under investigation, it added, and the former head of Mari El. You can recall a few a little earlier criminal cases. It turns out that governors are not just ceased to be a caste of the untouchable, on the contrary, the position of the Governor is perceived almost as a firing. Not so much in political but in a literal sense. For the trivial scheme with shadow funding and levies “to the Church” local businesses can “sit” really. That heavily discourages potential candidates for the posts of heads of regions.

The expression “the situation is worse Governor’s” today, sparkle with new colors.

Sometimes it seems the day is near when the Omsk incident will be repeated at the Governor level, the post of the Governor of the XYZ region will not be contenders.

However, while the Federal center this is clearly not worry — it is relatively easy to find managers-Vikings vacant positions of heads of regions. Some of these candidates people paramilitary, part reviews the status of the Governor as an intermediate stage in his career. But, anyway, to select managers is still possible without any problems.

The revival of the policy, however, is connected not only with the personnel reshuffle. Meetings March 26, was struck by the many and extensive geographic reach. Several dozen cities, one way or another, took part in the campaign — where local authorities have approved it, somewhere in there, the coverage has impressed many. It also means the revival of political life on the ground.

It’s clear why: the current economic crisis, despite all the assurances of the authorities about the beginning of the growing phase, affected the quality of life of citizens in the Russian province. Poor people have developed as a result of devaluation in 2014 to the poor. The same can be said about poor areas — they barely make ends meet.

It is obvious that the popularity of the authorities in such circumstances could not remain abnormally high, but if the Federal government and personally to Vladimir Putin claims citizens are almost not present, local authorities are increasingly. Hence the complaints, and meetings, and distinctive representations of local politicians.

Regional managers under the new rules of the game, too, not envy. Money really is not, and the execution of, say, the may decrees on increasing the salaries of doctors and teachers has not been canceled. Recent monitoring of the onf showed that in the regions, roughly speaking, just “paint” the reporting of the real level of teacher salaries differs from a “paper” often in times. The result seems to be Federal bosses happy, but the governors are in limbo.

If any can be removed with the wording “loss of confidence” and to explain that the failure of the same may decrees. That is, if the security forces did not find the claims serious.

The output is, because there is an excessive amount of leverage is formally elected and how even “independent” governors. And whether the Governor even though the technocrat, though the enforcer, though a public politician, he will still have to work with a constant eye on what think about him in the Kremlin.

Such a scheme must have been quite working in terms of monetary abundance, but when the regions broke, begins to provoke crises management, which is simply the default built-in this type of system. The Governor is well aware that his main voters — few people in Moscow, and those who went to the polls and put a tick in the ballot — this population is temporarily mandated. How do these “voters” can get his flick of the wrist.

Citizens, in turn, are well aware that they have sent another weak friend of his boss. And either philosophically look at the reality on the principle of “survive this”, or start to protest.

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