Merkel of Germany has been chancellor since 2005 (15 years)
Putin has been president since 2000 with 4 years break (16 years).
So technically he is not THAT bad in comparison.
So technically he is not THAT bad in comparison.
German chancellor is elected by Bundestag and not directly by the people.
I guess in terms of USA that would be like Democrats and Republicans coming up with a president.
That's totally normal, and happens in a lot of places. For instance, in Canada, you vote for your local representatives (MPs), the party that ends up with the most MPs (roughly speaking) gets their leader installed as Prime Minister. Then, of course, the Head of State is actually the Queen who's represented by the Governor General, who is in turn nominated by the Prime Minister.
None of that matters, of course, wrt: freedom.
Right...