The German/Swiss press has picked up on the close relationship between George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin. Before the election Putin went out on a limb and essentially endoresed the reelection of his friend. Some of this may have been due to irritation with key members of the Kerry camp – Madeleine Albright and Richard Holbrooke – who have been outspoke critics of Putin’s policies in Chechnya and his apparent contempt for the democratic process in Russia. When Bush secured his reelction victory on November 3rd, Putin was the first international leader to offer his congratulations. NZZ-Online
commented on how Putin was "openly satisfied" by the results:
Kreml-kritische Kommentatoren in den Moskauer Zeitungen hatten die eindeutige Bevorzugung Bushs durch den Kreml vor der Wahl damit begründet, dass Moskau befürchte, im Fall von Kerrys Sieg werde es stärker an seine Verpflichtungen im Bereich der Menschenrechte und der Demokratisierung erinnert und das Weisse Haus könnte generell eine weniger nachsichtige Haltung zur russischen Innen- und Aussenpolitik an den Tag legen.
Berlin-Online went so far as to call Putin and Bush "Blood Brothers" and quoted Putin’s comments that "attempts to smear the president with dirt didn’t stick".
Russlands Präsident Wladimir Putin beglückwünschte den Wahlsieger George W. Bush schon frühzeitig. "Falls er wiedergewählt ist, gratulieren wir ihm und freuen uns, dass der Dreck, mit dem man ihn beschmutzen wollte, nicht an ihm hängen geblieben ist", sagte Putin im Mittwochnachmittag in Moskau. Bush habe sich als "ein verlässlicher und kalkulierbarer Partner Russlands" erwiesen.
There maybe more to the "Blood Brothers" idea than simply the solidarity of two international leaders united in the War on Terror. The US media analyst and writer Matt Yglesias has one of the best political blogs. A while back he wrote about the "creeping Putinization of America." What are some of the indications?
Consolidation of the media: Putin controls the press in Moskow with an iron fist. Critical voices are threatened with financial penalties or in some cases even violence. In the US, the media is increasingly controlled by powerful corporate interests,such as General Electric (a major defense contractor) and Disney. Entire networks like Fox and Sinclair Broadcasting Group have become mouthpieces for the Republican Party. Fox has made it a policy to conceal casualty figures coming out of Iraq; Sinclair constantly tries to paint a happy face on the violent debacle of the Iraq war. Just a Russian citizens know next to nothing about what is really happening in Chechnya, Americans have a very difficult time getting accurate information about what is going on in Iraq. Both Putin and Bush have conflated their respective wars as part of the ‘global war on terror’.
Consolidation of Political Power: Putin quickly used the terrorist attacks Beslan as a rationale for suspending democratic rights in Russia. The Bush administration is on its way to creating a one-party nation. Bush owes his political success to an extraordinary party discipline that stifles all dissenting points of view. During the presidential campaign, only Bush supporters who prefessed loyalty to the President werer permitted to attend Bush rallys; and at the rallys the people were told to stand and receide the "Bush Pledge". Corrupt Republican members of Congress like Tom Delay were allowed to implement a congressional redistricting that ensured an increase in the number of Republican legislators. On Wenesday the newly re-elected Presient Bush trumpeted his "mandate" and vowed to use his "political capital" to privatize Social Security.
