ABSTRACT
At first glance, Vladimir Putin and Abe Shinzo seem very different leaders, but on closer inspection the two have much in common. Both came back to lead their nations in 2012 after a period out of office. Putin won a third presidential term after a four-year sabbatical as prime minister during which his protégé Dmitry Medvedev ostensibly took the helm as president. Abe staged a more surprising comeback five years after his first premiership ended ignobly after just one year in September 2007. Both leaders owe their electoral success to their carefully crafted and constantly evolving public relations strategies. But the same PR strategies that sustain their present powerbase threaten to undermine their future legacies.
