Moscow mayor fights to survive as Kremlin anger grows focus 09/12/2010

Moscow mayor fights to survive as Kremlin anger grows

focus

09/12/2010
MOSCOW — Moscow’s strongman mayor, who came to power 18 years ago when Vladimir Putin was still an obscure official, is finally under mounting pressure to quit but showing no sign of leaving his post willingly.

Criticism of Yury Luzhkov, who turns 74 this month, intensified after the bee-keeping mayor boldly ignored President Dmitry Medvedev’s desire to freshen up the ranks of local leaders, angering the Kremlin.

Unhappiness with Luzhkov reached boiling point this week as the Kremlin snapped at the Moscow mayor’s apparent attempts to sow discord in the ruling tandem of Medvedev and his mentor Prime Minister Putin.

“Moscow’s authorities have gone too far in their attempts to create a clash between the president and the prime minister,” a source in the Kremlin told Interfax this week. “These attempts will not be left without proper reaction.”

The comment followed several controversial articles in pro-Luzhkov Moskovsky Komsomolets daily and the mayor’s annoyance with the Kremlin’s criticism of his vacation during a critical heatwave that caused a health crisis in the capital.

While Putin showed support, “I got a kick from the other side, the (presidential) administration,” Luzhkov said last week on a Moscow-owned channel. “I came back as soon as I had the chance, on a plane.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100912com6.html