To tell the truth, I had similar doubts too. To be more precise, I was also among those who believed that an opposition leader should by all means be an ideology-centered man truly committed to democratic values. Today, however, I tend to believe that no ideology-centered man should be given power. They fuss too much about it to be trusted the reins. To run a state should be left to pragmatists with no ideological constrains.
Pragmatic politicians care about the result.
If they find that, say, to build a stable dynamic economy and ensure national development the authoritarian political system is needed, they will establish such a system. If they see that democracy is needed, they will turn to democracy. Kazhegeldin is a born market-oriented politician. He sees liberal economy and democratic political system as the only way to get the country out of crisis. Democracy is not an ideal for him but a mechanism to resolve the nation's problems.