Russia parliament to vote on PM Putin on May 8

MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russia's parliament will vote on whether to confirm Vladimir Putin as prime minister on May 8, the day after he steps down as president, the speaker of parliament said on Monday.  
Putin, who is stepping down in line with a constitutional term limit, has said he will serve as prime minister once his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, is sworn in as president on May 7.

""We are awaiting May 7, the inauguration, and we are awaiting May 8, when we will confirm the candidate for prime minister,"" Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the State Duma lower house of parliament, told a news conference.

Kremlin loyalists have a huge majority in the State Duma and Putin is likely to be confirmed easily.

The confirmation hearing is being scheduled unusually early. Previous presidents have needed several days after their inauguration to have their prime ministerial choices confirmed by parliament.

The schedule leaves little time for Putin to follow the traditional procedure of coming to parliament and meeting with faction leaders for consultations before the vote.

Putin has said he wants to remain influential in Russian politics.