People's expectations high, says Putin

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, MARCH 27. In his first comments after he won the Sunday presidential election, the Acting President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, acknowledged the Communists' strong showing and said his Government would have to take popular discontent into account. Earlier, Mr. Putin was declared winner with 52.6 per cent vote while his main rival, the Communist leader, Mr. Gennady Zyuganov, came second with 29.3 per cent. The maverick nationalist leader, Mr. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, trailed far behind.

``I want to point out the Communists achieved that level despite the fact that they did not have much access to the media, especially electronic media,'' Mr. Putin told reporters at his campaign headquarters. ``That means that our policy must be more balanced, take into account the existing realities and aim at increasing living standards.''

The Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers noted no serious violations in Russia's presidential election Sunday. The OSCE mission head, Mr. Eduard Brunner, told the Interfax news agency that Russia's second post- Soviet election was well-organised. The OSCE sent some 400 observers to Russia, part of a 1,000-strong foreign team overseeing the vote.

Mr. Putin warned people against expecting any miracles from his new Government. ``The level of expectations is very high - people are tired and struggling and they're hoping for things to get better, but miracles don't happen,'' he said. ``There is only one way to behave in this situation - to be honest. We must clearly analyse the situation where the country is today, be honest and direct about our proposals.''

The new President is expected to be sworn in early May, whereafter the Government will offer its resignation. The President will then nominate a Prime Minister, who upon confirmation by Parliament will proceed to form a new Cabinet. The First Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Mikhail Kasyanov, a possible choice for Prime Minister, said today there would be no changes in the Cabinet until Mr. Putin's swearing in.

A top Kremlin official today predicted there would be no sweeping changes in the new government either. ``Putin is a very pragmatic man and one should not expect him to make any extravagant moves,'' said Mr. Dmitry Medvedev, who headed Mr. Putin's election campaign.

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Section  : International
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