Russia's new PM seen as a stop-gap appointment

Within minutes of his approval by an overwhelming majority in the State Duma, Russia's new Prime Minister, Mr Sergei Stepashin, was being written off as a loser. Even deputies who supported him claimed he was merely a stop-gap premier.

Mr Vladimir Ryzhkov, whose Our Home is Russia group has been a firm and consistent supporter of President Yeltsin, told reporters: "I insist that this is only a temporary government. The question is how long will it last."

The Communists, whose motion to impeach President Yeltsin was defeated in the Duma on Saturday, backed away from opposing Mr Stepashin yesterday, but their second-in-command, Mr Valentin Kuptsov, said he expected the new Prime Minister to last about six months in his job.

The former deputy prime minister, Mr Boris Nemtsov, was not helpful either. He put it about that Mr Stepashin may have presidential ambitions. Rumours of this nature almost guarantee that Mr Yeltsin will wield the presidential axe, as he did when the former prime minister, Mr Yevgeny Primakov, was seen to do well in the opinion polls.

Mr Stepashin, a colonel-general of the Interior Ministry forces, thanked the Duma for its support which, he said, showed that he and the Duma were, "united in common pain for our country, for our people, that we want our country to become prosperous." Mr Yeltsin's representative in the Duma, Mr Alexander Kotenkov, described the ratification with 301 votes in support out of 440 deputies as a "huge victory for the President", but the indications were that Russia's political infighting was by no means over.

Had the Duma rejected Mr Stepashin three times, Mr Yeltsin would have dissolved the parliament. But the parliament's term is due to end this year and it seems likely that anti-Yeltsin parties, notably the Communists and the pro-Western Yabloko Party, which also opposes Mr Yeltsin, will end up with even more seats in parliament after December's parliamentary elections.

The opposition is biding its time. It knows that Mr Yeltsin wants a fight and it is not going to give him one. Many observers feel that Mr Yeltsin is simply looking for an excuse to have a state of emergency, cancel next summer's presidential elections and rule by decree.

Mr Stepashin appeared to deny such suggestions yesterday when he told deputies: "I am not Pinochet. My name is Stepashin."

He had, he said, "no intention of using emergency measures. Some have already raised this issue surrounding my nomination. They say that a general has come to power and that Russia is on the verge of dictatorship and they compare me to Pinochet."

The deputies listened to his speech attentively but their vote showed that they were taking no chances.

Mr Yeltsin arrived in the Kremlin yesterday, a day after his cancellation of a meeting with Spain's Prime Minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, sparked fresh concerns over his health. The Spanish embassy on Tuesday said the Kremlin had called the previous day saying the Russian leader was suffering from bronchitis.