MOSCOW. Dec 11 (Interfax) - Tuesday's proposal by First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that President Vladimir Putin become prime minister after the presidential election received differing assessments from two liberal politicians, one of them calling it "predictable" and the other expressing surprise at it.

"That was predictable. It's natural that the personal composition of the government is not going to change, and that has been the purpose of all the moves that have followed Viktor Zubkov's appointment as prime minister - to keep the government in the form it currently exists in," Sergei Ivanenko, deputy leader of Yabloko, one of Russia's main liberal opposition parties, told Interfax.

"But I do think the policy may change. The fact that Dmitry Medvedev is speaking of promoting the European angle of development for Russia is a reason to keep hoping it will change," Ivanenko said.

At the same time, Leonid Gozman, deputy leader of another key Russian liberal party, the Union of Right Forces (SPS), told Interfax: "I am surprised at such a proposal from Dmitry Medvedev, but not at the manifestation of loyalty on the part of Dmitry Anatolyevich (Medvedev), but rather I'm surprised at the fact that Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) is prepared to take the number two position in the country."

Putin, whom the Constitution bars from seeking a third consecutive term in office, has backed Monday's nomination of Medvedev for Russian president by United Russia and three other parties.

The presidential election is set for March 2, 2008.

Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov declined to comment on Medvedev's proposal. "I take politics seriously. I have no comment on this matter," Zyuganov told reporters. Zyuganov's first deputy Ivan Melnikov did comment, however.

"All these political gestures of courtesy have the same goal to pursue - turning Vladimir Putin's accumulated ratings into a tool for carrying out specific pragmatic tasks," Melnikov told reporters.

"Medvedev is simply saying to voters that his election motto will be 'I will keep Putin around,' which in principle is not very different from the strategy of United Russia at the parliamentary elections (on December 2)," Melnikov said.

However, "there is a struggle lying ahead of us and it is not yet clear who will appoint the chairman of the government (prime minister)," he said.