European Reactions to Putin’s election – Business as Usual

Vladimir Putin was elected President of Russia. What a surprise! One thing is quite certain, being elected was not the problem, the real dilemma for Putin may be to stay in power as long as he envisions it. Russian citizens are seriously concerned about the problems of representation, transparency, accountability, and most importantly ramping corruption. But what have been the reactions across Europe on the election of Putin?

Lady Ashton, EU High Representative, made a very interesting statement, wherein she only referred to Putin once; and most importantly she did not openly recognize the result of the elections. Her statement was that “The EU takes note of the preliminary results of the presidential elections and the clear victory of Vladimir Putin.” Ashton also mentioned the shortcomings and irregularities of the elections. She concluded by saying that: “The EU looks forward to working with the incoming Russian President and the new government in full support of our shared modernisation agenda, which

we see as covering both economic and political reforms. We trust the new Russian President will be ready to take these reforms forward, in dialogue with citizens and civil society.” In any case, Ashton did not directly congratulate Putin and neither did Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, nor José Manuel Barroso, President of the Commission, make a statement.

Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, declared in a short statement, not even mentioning the name of Vladimir Putin, that “Now that the elections are over, the Russian leadership should meet the promises of political and electoral reforms, of improving the rule of law and respect for human rights, of ensuring independence of judiciary and rooting out corruption. The authorities should respond to increasingly strong voices calling for democratisation of the country. It is now up to the Russian leadership to regain the trust of a significant part of the Russian society, which manifested discontent during the campaign.” Both Ashton and Schulz recognized the centrality and strategic partnership between the EU and Russia. Nevertheless, they acknowledged several problems and underlined the need to respect specific values, such as democracy, the rule of law, freedom of expression and press.

Heads of State and Government of the Big Three – Britain, France, and Germany – have had different reactions to the election of Putin. For example, Nicolas Sarkozy, French President, addressed a warm letter to Putin on March 6th. He opened his letter by stating “I offer you all of my congratulations and all the best wishes for Russia and the Russian people.” And went on to express: “As you prepare to assume the highest executive office in your country for a third time, I offer you my most sincere encouragement to continue the work of democratic and economic modernisation to which, in accordance with the wishes expressed by the Russian people, you will want to devote your new mandate.” However, French Defense Minister, Alain Juppé, was much more critical than the President by claiming that the election “was not exemplary. [However] I take note that President Putin is our interlocutor for years to come.”

Differently than France, which has a close relationship with Russia, Britain has had a cold strained relationship with Russia since the 2006 assassination of Alexander Litvinenko. David Cameron, British Prime Minister, talked on the phone with Putin and did not directly congratulate him. Cameron’ spokesperson said that “The Prime Minister said that he had been following the Russian elections closely.” Cameron also told Putin that “He looked forward to working with Mr Putin to overcome the obstacles in the relationship between Britain and Russia and build deeper political and trade links. The leaders agreed on the importance of building a stronger relationship, without disguising differences and areas of concern.”

The third member of the Big Three, Germany, was vocal on the irregularities of the election process. Nevertheless, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, phoned Putin earlier on March 6 and reiterated the fact that Russia and Germany need to deepen their “strategic partnership.”

From these elections, several elements can be taken into consideration: first, once again the EU and the 27 Member States do not have a common voice. Some were muted, some were more welcoming, and others emphasized the irregularities. It seems that EU-Russian relations will simply continue the way they have been since the arrival of Putin to power in 2000. Second, Russia is a crucial actor on several issues: Syria, Iran, and energy. Putin knows it and is using this leverage over the West in order to advance his interests and empower Russia. Third, the results of the communist party in Russia are quite high and probably even higher than expressed by the official results. The Communist party has become more and more popular in Russia. The domestic fight between the Communist party and United Russia will be interesting to follow in the years to come. Fourth, it is not because Vladimir Putin is President, again, that the West should feel threatened by Russia. Even as Prime Minister, Putin was clearly leading Russia. Putin never left power. Fifth, there is not such thing than a new wave of Russian anti-Americanism. The narrative of anti-Americanism simply sells and helps Vladimir Putin in bolstering Russian nationalism. The old cold war rhetoric is still very present in the mindsets of the American and Russian establishment. Putin back in power simply means one thing: business as usual.