It is not uncommon in many governments for members of the same families or between close political allies to form a joint leadership to preserve the political power between them. Political experts have termed this unholy alliance as “tandemocracy.” It is a neologism formed by combining “tandem” (partnership) and “cracy” (rule) to mean joint rule or leadership. This setup is normally brought about by a constitutional or statutory provision that imposes term limits on elective officials up to a maximum number of terms. In the modern era, this was best exemplified by the Putin-Medvedev tandemocracy, which ruled Russia from 2008 up to 2012. Barred from serving a third consecutive term as President of his country under the Russian constitution, Vladimir Putin put up his close associate, Dmitry Medvedev, as his anointed presidential bet in the 2008 presidential election. As expected, Medvedev easily drubbed the token opposition candidate and assumed the office as Putin’s successor. With Putin’s full backing as if he were the one running for president, Medvedev, his dummy, captured almost 3/4 of the total votes cast.
During the campaign, Medvedev, who was adopted as a common presidential bet by several political parties, had promised that once elected he would appoint Putin as his Prime Minister. Shortly after he took his oath of office, Medvedev fulfilled his commitment and Putin took the position of Prime Minister under President Medvedev. Under the Russian government structure, the position of the Prime minister is lower than the President of Russia, who serves as the highest official and head of the government. But this was not how the Russian people and foreign governments perceived the political set up in Russia. Majority still believed that there was no real transfer of power from Putin to Medvedev. Surveys had shown that Putin still exercised real political control in the country. They held the view that Medvedev was just his lackey and a mere figurehead to hold the presidential office until such time that Putin became eligible to hold the office again. In fact, during the G20 Summit in London in 2009, Medvedev did not make much of an impression with then-President Barack Obama on the first meeting of the two world leaders. Although their meeting had gone well and the Russian leader “seemed a lot more open doing business “ than what the US delegation had expected, the US team had wondered “how much of what Medvedev said was cleared with Putin beforehand.” And this assessment was generally shared by most world leaders. After Medvedev’s one term in office and Putin became eligible again to become his country’s President, Putin ran and won again with an overwhelming majority. He became the paramount leader of his country once more, which in reality he had never lost. One major accomplishment of Medvedev during his presidency was the extension of the presidential term from four years to six years. Any guess who was behind it?
Putin did not waste his opportunity to amend the Russian constitution removing the constitutional provision barring him to seek a third consecutive term. He was a fast learner. After winning his second 2nd term, he floated the idea of scrapping the prohibition. Last July 2020, 78 percent of the Russians voted to amend its constitution that will allow Putin to run for president two more times—in 2024 and in 2030. Potentially, he could extend his rule until 2036 making him the longest ruler of Russia since Peter the Great who ruled Russia from 1672 until his death in 1725. Incidentally, before 1696, Peter the Great co-ruled Russia with his elder half-brother, Ivan V, to ensure that power would not fall outside the family. However, Putin’s reign would even eclipse the tenure in office of Joseph Stalin. Tandemocracy, if unchecked, can lead to autocracy and absolute and perpetual hold of power. As Lord Acton had warned us, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
In any country, power and greed are lethal combinations that debauch public officials. The lust for power and insatiable greed are the badges of corrupt politicians. They should be thrown out of public service. No one has the monopoly of talents and devotion to serve his people. A government position is not reserved to any ruling family or elite who can use or abuse their power to keep themselves or their minions in office.
Political dynasties are common features that dot our political landscape. In every region or province, there is a powerful family that controls the political and economic life of the place. Their family members or dummies occupy the top public elective offices in their political subdivision. When the term of the office holder expires and he is barred to run for another term, he will field his wife, son or daughter to succeed him in his post to ensure that political power is preserved within the family. They succeed to the throne of power like they enjoy the divine rights of kings. Another variation adopted by many politicians is to pick a family member to run as his running mate and then swap positions when one or both of them have served out their maximum terms of office. The longer a person stays in power, he becomes more entrenched and formidable in his position. As the saying goes, it is quixotic for an outsider to fight the city hall. Incumbents enjoy undue advantages over a challenger. Even if he slides down as the running mate of his anointed candidate, the privileges of the party-in-power will spell victory. The forthcoming 2022 elections will be no different. Voters will be treated to the same circus. We may be entertained by different magicians, but they will employ the same political tricks. Creating our own Putin will be worse than this pandemic. God bless the Philippines!