President Vladimir Putin announced Monday that he would be the leading candidate on the ticket of Russia's dominant political party in parliamentary elections in December, and said he might become the country's prime minister next year.
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One senior Western diplomat also proposed the idea that the latest public remarks were in part a charade, and that Putin, fearing betrayal or a loss of influence in the Kremlin's mercurial inner sanctum, may yet reverse his course and decide to serve another term.
"I think what is clear, one way or the other, is that he is setting up a parallel structure," the diplomat said by telephone. "But in the end he may ditch it all and decide to stay."
