Victory and emotion for Vladimir Putin, who as expected won the presidential elections in Russia obtaining 63,7% of the votes in the first round. The large result saved Putin from having to resort to the ballot, even if compared to 2004 the consensus towards him has dropped: at the time he won 71,3%. But this time there was also room for tears: the tensions of recent months, the constant accusations of fraud and the role of huge favorite had led Putin's electoral race to be a real matter of life and death.
TEARS - And indeed, at the riding school in Moscow, in front of the thousands of fans who were waiting for him to celebrate his victory in the presidential elections, the new president burst into tears. “I promised you that we would win – he said – e we won in open and honest competition. Our people have been able to distinguish the desire for renewal from political provocations aimed at destroying the country. Glory to Russia".
BROUGHT – Indeed, these turn out to be the most transparent elections in Russian history, with the setting up of two webcams in almost all 96 polling stations in the country, with a crazy expense: almost 400 million euros. Nonetheless, the protest of the indignant over the umpteenth victory announced and the umpteenth Putin-Medvedev relay, in power since 2000 exchanging the seats of president and prime minister, has not subsided. Meanwhile, the other candidates are left with only crumbs: Communist candidate Ghennadi Ziuganov comes in second, with 17,1%, third place instead for the billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov at 6,9%, ahead of the populist Vladimir Zhirinovski (6,7%).
REPERCUSSIONS FOR ITALY – Putin's election that could weigh in on South Stream's future, the gas pipeline through Turkey so dear to Gazprom (almost a family business for Putin) but which Washington does not like at all and not even the EU (which has opposed the Nabucco hypothesis). The orientation of Italian diplomacy is today much more detached with respect to the pipeline, in which Eni could reduce its stake to 20%.
