Speaking to journalists on Saturday, Russian President said that the Constitution grants a presidential candidate an opportunity to be elected twice, each time for a four-year term. "The President should not abuse his right to change the government in these eight years, but it is useful to change the senior officials in charge of the country's top administrative bodies from time to time," the head of state said.
According to him, officials tend to get used to their high social and political status. "People gradually get surrounded by all kinds of clingfish, by outdated ideas, and start taking excessive efforts to secure their positions instead of working hard to the best of their capacity," Vladimir Putin pointed out. "It is a trend invariably present in any bureaucratic system."
"One should not start jumping at hasty decisions in such circumstances; personnel deserve respect and careful treatment, but planned personnel change is inevitable," President said.
As for former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, Vladimir Putin pointed out, "I have preserved good relations with him to this day."
