How should Europe react to Putin's "re-election"?
Several Western countries have condemned the presidential election in Russia as unfree and undemocratic - because there were no opposition candidates and numerous reported irregularities and reprisals. The Russian Central Election Commission on Monday declared Putin the winner with 87 percent of the vote. The press discusses appropriate responses to the result and what lies ahead for Europe.
The enemy tested and found lacking
In the eyes of the Kremlin boss, the West's reaction has been pathetic, Polityka is convinced:
“Putin has tested the enemy and now knows that it is not prepared to deny him the legitimacy of power, whatever legal arguments it might have. The accusation of violating international law (by holding 'elections' in occupied territories), the absence of independent observers from the OSCE or Council of Europe, the failure to comply with democratic standards - all this seems no more than a farce because it remains on the level of verbal criticism. In the eyes of the Kremlin, this shows that the West has decided to put democratic values and standards on the back burner in order to keep the option of talks with the Russian leader open for the future.”
Refuse to recognise the result
Jydske Vestkusten demands consequences:
“Just as we do not recognise his 'colleague' Alexander Lukashenko as Belarusian president, clearly we should not regard Vladimir Putin as the Russian head of state. The presidential elections in Russia were a farce without a modicum of democratic legitimacy. They are also not legitimate because Russia conducted elections in territories that were annexed in violation of international law. Of course we shouldn't recognise this. That being said, is there any point in contesting Putin's right to the presidency? It certainly won't make the autocrat relinquish his power. But it's still an important signal showing what Denmark is not prepared to accept as a democratic nation.”
Question Putinists' right to vote in Estonia
Postimees is concerned about the high level of support for Putin among Estonia's Russian minority:
“In Estonia, around 75 percent of Russian voters voted for Putin. Like Putin's supporters in Russia, they have basically given the dictator a mandate to continue his brutal war. In so doing they voted not only for him, but also for massacres, rapes and deportations. This pro-Putin stance of Russian citizens living in Estonia raises the question of what should happen to their right to vote in Estonia. These citizens can vote in local elections and thus influence Estonian politics. No matter how you look at it, Putinists are a security threat in this country.”
Democracies caught between ideology and reality
Democratic states have limited capacity to respond to electoral fraud, says The Economist:
“Across the world, dodgy elections are common: at least 28 of the 76 countries holding elections this year will not have a fully free and fair vote. ... America, Britain, the European Union and Ukraine have declared the result of Russia's presidential election illegitimate. Yet even as Western countries decried the poll as a sham, they ensured that voting was carried out peacefully at their Russian embassies. Genuine democracies are caught between an ideology that compels them to evangelise and the reality of an increasingly undemocratic world.”
A tough scenario for Europe
The news website Iefimerida voices concern:
“Putin's absolute dominance in his country and the transformation of Russia into a military economic power despite the ongoing sanctions imposed by the West face Europe with a particularly tough and challenging scenario. Along the eastern borders of the European Union, from Romania to Estonia and Finland, there is and will be for many years to come a ruthless and very powerful adversary that threatens the sovereignty and rights of almost all its neighbouring countries. 'Russia's borders end nowhere' was the central slogan of Putin's election campaign. A revisionist and aggressive strategy that we in Europe must now take very seriously.”
Davankov was not an anti-war candidate
The day after the election, Vladislav Davankov, the candidate favoured by some of Putin's opponents, wished Putin a swift victory in the war. Writing on Facebook, political scientist Abbas Galliamov is glad that the opposition did not rally around Davankov:
“There will be no widespread disappointment now. Some said Davankov cut a decent figure and could be moulded into a protest candidate, while others said that was impossible. In that moment many people were comlpaining: 'Why doesn't the opposition unite?' But now it turns out: thank God they didn't. In general we shouldn't fetishise unity. It's only needed in certain phases.”