Primakov, in truth, has not done a very good job of shielding his presidential ambitions. He has been respectful of all but the most rabid of the communists who control the Duma, and has quietly courted groups (such as trade unions) that were ignored by Yeltsin’s previous prime ministers. Since the start of the year, Primakov has installed allies at important Moscow-based media organizations, including a major television network and the ITAR-Tass wire service.
The only question now in Moscow is whether Primakov’s ambition has become too obvious. Two weeks ago he presented the legislature with a proposal for a political peace deal: in return for dropping impeachment proceedings against Yeltsin and giving the president and his family some legal immunity, the Kremlin would agree not to dissolve Parliament or dismiss Primakov’s government. The move was an attempt to build on Kremlin-Duma talks begun last summer, but Primakov hadn’t cleared it with his boss. Yeltsin’s spokesman quickly made it plain that the president, even in his enfeebled state, had no intention of giving up any of his constitutional powers. It was at once Primakov’s first political misstep since coming to office in September and the first time that Yeltsin had made it known he was unhappy with his prime minister.
That’s why, in the eyes of some political analysts in Moscow, the fact that Yeltsin left his sickbed twice to show up at the Kremlin may be bad news for Primakov. The president apparently sacked Viktor Chernomyrdin last March in part because the former prime minister was making his designs on the Kremlin. Last week Yeltsin sacked a handful of his own aides. On Friday the usually reliable newspaper Kommersant reported that the White House (where Primakov works) was bracing for dismissals, and that Primakov, in a meeting with Yeltsin, ““looked discouraged.''
Yeltsin’s capacity for erratic behavior should never be underestimated. But to sack Primakov now, in the midst of economic turmoil, would invite political chaos sure to further tarnish the president’s fading legacy. Primakov, moreover, is not stupid. The raids against Berezovsky’s companies last week were aimed in part at turning up evidence that the businessman had used his private security service to bug the Kremlin and Tatyana. The Kremlin could not have been happy about that. The person in real trouble now may be Berezovsky, not Primakov. In fact, Friday night, Yeltsin’s chief of staff announced that the president and Primakov had resolved their differences over the non-aggression pact. Yeltsin, he said, agreed that any move to dismiss the government could come only after consultation with the Duma –effectively, a surrender to Primakov.
Berezovsky, for his part, made it clear in an interview with NEWSWEEK last Friday that he sees nothing to gain from a public fight with the prime minister now. He denounced ““the attacks’’ against him, but said it was the result of a feud between him and the FSB (the successor agency to the KGB). But wasn’t the ““attack’’ sanctioned by the Primakov government? ““I can’t say anything about that.’’ Does Berezovsky fear that Yeltsin backs the prime minister? ““I do not want to comment on these issues,’’ Berezovsky said. Spoken like a man who knows that as the political intrigue thickens during Yeltsin’s twilight, the smartest thing to do is hedge your bets. Prime Minister Primakov may be around for a while.
