Yertysbayev has previously said that the "leader" label warranted  Nazarbayev more votes than the 91 percent he picked up in the last elections in 2005 and compared the president in power since 1989 to boxing legend Muhammad Ali. "Look at Ali," the aide said. "He reigned for 15 years but still took every fight seriously." The energy-rich nation prides itself for being an island of Central Asian stability that saw seven percent growth last year on the back of  business-friendly tax policies that make Western investors feel at home. "Some people say that Kazakhstan is the calmest and most stable place on Earth. And this is not an exaggeration," Yertysbayev said with pride. "This  really is the case." But some analysts said the fact that Nazarbayev has never been elected in a poll deemed fair by observers leaves Western businessmen guessing about how  deeply his liberal take on economics runs within the state.

That question is particularly pointed because the 70 year old leader has  failed to suggest a successor amid signs of an inner circle struggle about what to do next. State television reporters with greater access to Nazarbayev said in private that some aides were pushing the president to stay in power as long as  physically possible while others were quietly promoting their own favourites.

But these figures are almost complete unknowns to both the local public and Western states and businesses. Powerful Nazarbayev opponents with deep pockets meanwhile have mostly fled  the state and a new law requiring a 15 year residency period for candidates  rules them out of the succession picture. The ruling party is also slowly acquiring some new blood: it is expected to soon see a new Senate speaker the second in the line of command and a new  deputy head of the ruling Nur Otan party. Yertysbayev said in one recent interview that elections would be followed  by appointment changes that will see the rise "of the golden youth who received  elite educations in the West".