(Bloomberg) -- The Kremlin has decided to delay Vladimir Putin's annual state-of-the-nation speech to closer to the March 18 vote, giving him a key platform for him to lay out priorities for his next presidential term, according to three officials familiar with the plans.
The landmark event on Russia's political calendar is expected to take place in late February or early March, just weeks before the presidential election, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that aren't public. The speech had been set for early next week -- on Wednesday, the speaker of the upper house of parliament said it was coming in early February, according to RIA Novosti -- but plans shifted in recent days, the people said.
“The president hasn't yet set the date for the address. As soon as he does, we will announce it,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. News website RBC reported Friday the speech had been delayed with no new date set yet.
Putin is planning to use the nationally televised address to parliament and other officials to outline plans for the fourth term he's expected to win easily in the vote. The Kremlin already delayed it from the usual timing at the end of last year, aiming to bring it into the campaign period. Putin is expected to discuss proposals for higher spending on popular domestic programs like health and education, while steering clear of painful tax hikes and benefit cuts that are in the works to pay for them.
“It's Putin's political message, a kind of picture of the future over the next 6-10 years,” said Konstantin Kostin, a political consultant who works for the Kremlin. Putting if off until closer to the vote will add to its impact as interest in the campaign rises, he said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stepan Kravchenko in Moscow at skravchenko@bloomberg.net, Ilya Arkhipov in Moscow at iarkhipov@bloomberg.net, Evgenia Pismennaya in Moscow at epismennaya@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Torrey Clark
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