Putin: Russia not ready for parliamentary system

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday said Russia with its vast territory, huge population, multiple religions and a large number of ethnic groups needs a strong president, but not ready to switch to a parliamentary system.

Putin disclosed this at a meeting with the public in the Western Russian city of Lipetsk.

According to him, to make a parliamentary republic run effectively, it is necessary that the political structure develops for a long time.

“In Russia, no party has many years of experience, while in Europe; some parties have existed for centuries.

“It is hard to say whether political parties can survive without their leaders, as they are used to maintaining strong connections with their leaders,“ Putin said.

“Western experts claim that parliamentarism is experiencing a crisis as well. They are thinking about how to revive it, to give it a new quality, as well as how to make their parliamentary systems more efficient,” he said.

Putin noted that in some countries, in spite the existence of a political infrastructure in the form of stable political parties, they cannot form a government for six months, which could lead to a disaster if such happened in Russia.