As of: March 15, 2024, 5:17 a.m
By: Jens Kiffmeier
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Views the Putin elections in Russia as a farce: CDU foreign policy expert Johann Wadephul.
© Alexander Zemlianichenko/Kay Niefeld/dpa/Montage
Because of the suppressed opposition: The Union criticizes the elections in Russia as a farce.
Nevertheless, she believes in a time after Putin.
But this requires concepts.
Berlin - One incumbent, no serious opponents and the danger of manipulation: At the start of the presidential elections in Russia, the Union in Germany complained about developments in the Eastern European country.
The CDU foreign and defense politician Johann Wadephul particularly criticized President Vladimir Putin's suppression of the opposition and described the three-day vote as a pure farce.
“I can only advise us all not to talk about an election.
This is not a choice.
This is a forced re-enthronement of Putin,” said the deputy Union parliamentary group leader when asked by
fr.de
from
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
Nevertheless, the politician does not want to give up hope that the Putin era will end.
Opposition eliminated: Union criticizes elections in Russia as a farce
The elections in Russia start this Friday (March 15th).
For the first time in history, they are scheduled to last three days, so an official result is not expected until Sunday.
However, the outcome already seems certain.
Because with the incumbent President Vladimir Putin there is only one serious candidate on the ballot papers.
Although three opposing candidates from different bloc parties are running, they are considered to have no chance.
All major opposition politicians have been driven into exile, imprisoned or killed under mysterious circumstances in recent months and years, as was recently the case with Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Nevertheless, Putin wants to demonstrate his power with the Russia election and achieve a record result.
Polls predict him a result of more than 80 percent.
But in the end, what will most likely depend on the level of voter turnout.
If this is low, it could be seen as a silent protest.
Against this background, the Kremlin is currently leaving nothing to chance.
While Putin is staging an election campaign with numerous appearances despite a lack of opponents, the remaining opposition is increasingly being silenced.
“More and more brutal”: CDU politician Wadephul worried about Putin’s re-election
“Opposition voices are systematically and increasingly brutally suppressed or even murdered, as the example of Navalny shows,” said Wadephul to
fr.de
from
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
Given that Putin is expected to be re-elected in the Russian election, he unfortunately sees no signs that anything would change in the short term.
“On the contrary – Putin is acting more and more brutally, both internally and externally,” the foreign policy expert added.
Nevertheless, the Union politician does not want to downplay the hope for democratic change in Russia or for a palace revolt against Putin.
Despite current developments, one should not give up on diverse voices in Russian society, warned Wadephul.
“On the contrary,” he added, “we need intelligent concepts to continue to support these people.
We need contacts and the basis for a post-Putin Russia.” However, he did not give details of what these concepts could look like.
We need contacts and the basis for a post-Putin Russia.
Johann Wadephul (CDU) wants to strengthen networks with Russian opposition figures
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But how justified are these hopes?
Despite the re-election, will there still be an end to the Putin era or is the Kremlin leader more firmly in the saddle than ever at the beginning of his term in office?
The answers to these questions are quite mixed.
While the majority of political observers believe Putin has strengthened, there are also a few voices who still believe that the president's downfall is not completely out of the question.
Despite the manipulated Russian election: hope for the beginning of the end of the Putin era remains
“I have the impression that we are witnessing the beginning of the end of Putin's regime,” the renowned historian Francoise Thom recently told the Austrian Standard.
She added that she was sure that there were plans to overthrow the Kremlin leader.
However, his opponents within the Kremlin would not make any attempt as long as eastern Ukraine was not firmly in Russian hands.
Putin, according to their theory, is now more or less the one who has to finish the unpopular job.
The opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin, who actually wanted to run as a presidential candidate and was booted out by Putin's regime, had previously made similar statements in an interview with the AFP news agency in January.
There have been repeated rumors of a fall in the past.
However, none of this can be independently verified.
In Germany they don't want to get involved in any speculation.
The Union tends to assume that the West will have to continue to align itself with the Putin regime in the medium term.
“It is foreseeable that we will have to organize European security against Russia as long as Putin and his henchmen are at the levers of power,” Wadephul made clear and called on the federal government to take a clear course.
Unfortunately, the traffic light coalition is currently doing “noticeably enough,” criticized the CDU politician.
“Our efforts must also be aimed at getting the largest possible number of states around the world to clearly identify and sanction Russia’s behavior that violates international law,” said Wadephul.
“This must remain a priority for German and European foreign policy.” (
jkf
)