MOSCOW, Feb 3 (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin sharply criticized his government Thursday for failing to properly implement tough new social reforms that have seen his popularity slide in recent weeks.
Putin told regional governors attending a Kremlin meeting that they bore the brunt of responsibility for fairly implementing a system that would see social benefits like free use of public transport and medicines for the needy replaced by cash payments.
"Both federal and regional authorities have failed to properly enforce the legal norms that have been passed," Putin said.
The radical social welfare system change has prompted a month of street protests led by the elderly that have seen major streets and highways blocked across Russia.
The first social unrest of Putin's five years in power prompted the Russian government last week to increase the minimum monthly pension from 660 rubles (about 24 dollars) to 900 rubles.
The government also announced a general raise in other benefits payments that had been cut by two thirds at the start of the year in a bid to restructure the cumbersome Soviet-era social welfare system.
The decision followed a 50 percent salary increase for the police and a 20 percent raise for the armed forces as Putin's government backtracked from the initial bold proposal.
Against this backdrop, the Public Opinion Foundation released a poll this week showing public trust in Putin slipping to 42 percent -- the lowest point since the Kursk nuclear submarine tragedy that prompted a belated Kremlin response in August 2000.
The Public Opinion Foundation poll showed that 21 percent of the 1,500 respondents had no trust in the Russian leader.
Putin's government has attempted to deflect part of the blame from itself and the Kremlin and on to regional leaders for poorly implementing the reforms.
The social benefits are split between those issued by the state and those by local authorities, with Moscow trying to pin more of the blame for the recent cash shortfalls on the latter.
Putin said Thursday he was satisfied that some disputes -- like compensation for travel -- had been resolved. But he stressed discontent still continued.
"It is necessary not just to establish order in the public transport sector but in such sensitive spheres as provision of medicines and other fields," said Putin.
Accepting that some of the reforms were drafted too quickly, Putin said the government must consult with the public as it implements the complicated program.
"Since any mistakes here would be extremely sensitive to the people, it is necessary to provide information about them and explain their meaning," Putin said of the reforms.
"You should coordinate regional interests and the strategy of the nation's development," Putin told the governors.
02/03/2005 14:45 GMT - AFP