Opinions & Interviews
Lukashenko speaks on his presidency plans
MINSK, 18 August (BelTA) - When assessing the performance of any head of state, one should be guided not so much by the number of years in office but by the actual results, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said in an interview with the Rossiya TV channel, BelTA has learned.
The journalist cited the words of the head of state during his recent meeting with residents of the agro-town Gorodishche, Shklov District. Then one of the participants of the meeting addressed Aleksandr Lukashenko with a request to run for the next term. The president said in this regard: "I am already publicly starting to say it to all of you. You should start getting used to the fact (I have spoiled you a bit) that you will have someone new on the post of the president. I am not saying that I will leave tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow... Well, everything happens in life. You should get used to the fact that I am not eternal. No one is.”
During the interview the head of state was asked to explain what he meant by those words. Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that what he said should be considered not in the context of generalities about human life, but from the point of view of a particular person's work in the presidential post: “Some people do not understand it, not knowing the essence of presidential work and the situation. They think that ‘30 years is a lot, there are only a few people who have been president for 30 years’. This is not the point. The point is whether it is good or bad. Is it good that a particular person works for 25 or 30 years? And then people say: “Yes, he should [go for another term], the situation is tense, he has not failed us, he has not cheated us, he protects the country”. The narratives are such. This is why I said those words then.”
According to the president, Belarusians got used to him being in this position, but it will not be always so. “One should realize that another person will come. This is inevitable. I meant that another person will come and that people should be ready for it. I am preparing people for this change. I do not want there to be any disappointment or failure,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The head of state emphasized that changes must go without any drastic shocks. Belarus is preparing the appropriate ground for it and has recently amended its Constitution.
“We do not want revolutionary changes. I am in favor of evolutionary changes, not revolutionary ones,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “We have done a lot over the years to build what we did. Some like it, some don't, but people, in general, feel comfortable.”
“We advocate evolutionary development based on what we have achieved,” the president continued. “We have never denied the achievements of the Soviet period. Never. We built our economy and our society on them. People often say about us: “Belarus is a fragment of the Soviet time.” No, it is no longer a fragment of the Soviet era. But it is true that we have built on the Soviet experience and achievements.
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