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100
days in opposition As
known, 100 days is believed to be long enough to make the first assessment of
the authorities effectiveness. If this statement is ok for the authorities it
can be applied to the opposition that’s willing to seize the power.
The main achievement of Ukrainian opposition
during the 100 days under Victor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko reign is the
fact that the opposition even exists. I think those 100 days gave quite a clear
answer – it does exist. The last sociological data show that Ukrainian
ex-premier and the party of regions, run by him, remain the leader of the
oppositional movement. So, according to Gallup Poll carried out by the
fund Democratic initiatives together with Kyiv International Institute of
Sociology, more than 13% are ready to vote for the Party of Regions as a
political movement that identifies itself as the opposition to current
administration. The rest of oppositionists are not that popular:
6,5% for The Communist Party of Ukraine, 4,2% - for The Progressive Socialists
party of Ukraine. Others can hardly get at lest a percent.
At the same time the outlines of ideology and
political background become sharper. The Party of Regions, SDPU(u), The
Communist Party of Ukraine, The Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine and other
oppositionists promote nearly the same politics which can be generally
characterized as “pro-Russian”. The constituent parts of such position are
backing up the Russian concept of UES, condemning the idea of premature
integration in EU and absolute denial of entering NATO. In internal policy the oppositionists are united
by the idea of legalizing Russian language, thus giving it a official state
status, condemning staff state policy and absolute awareness that social and
economic reforms will inevitably bring the country to “ruin”.
”100 days” have gradually structured the
opposition. The Party of Regions run by Victor Yanukovych remains the leader,
despite considerable drop of popularity. However, it can be accounted not for
Yanukovych’s virtues but for weakness of those pretending for leadership. SDPU
head, Victor Medvedchuk, the head of preogressive socialists, Natalia Vitrenko,
the new-comer of Labor Party, Valeriy Konovalyuk, not to mention Korchynsky,
Taras Chornovil, or ex-prosecutor General Hennady Vasiliev have turned into
marginal politicians willing just to seize the power. That’s basically “so-called positive achievement
of the opposition”. There are much more negative aspects. At the
first point, these 100 days proved opposition to be defenseless like a child.
Lutsenko’s list demoralized opposition rather than mobilized it. It should have
been just on the contrary. At the second point, opposition failed to
organize a single rally against the “regime”. The rallies supporting the victim
of Lutsenko’s list, Kolesnikov, looked quite unnatural, the tents in Mariinsky
Park failed to become the bastion of “blue-and-white revolution”.
The main principle of the opposition is to get
involved into fight without working out the plan of retreat. As a result
hundreds of people who came to Kyiv to defend Koleskykov will leave the capital
demoralized. The tactics of stealing “orange methods” has
failed. The new oppositionists didn’t get it that a true rebellion, revolt or
revolution is not planned in cozy offices. These are not planned at all.
As usual, communists hamper the opposition. On
the one hand they refuse to admit their time has gone. On the other – they keep
saying they’re a true opposition, Petro Symonenko in
particular. Symonenko just announced that communists managed
to found “Left Front” that will fight Yushchenko’s bourgeois regime. The chief
communists didn’t mention who would form the “front”. Obviously these are
unknown left wing and pro-russian parties that do not play any significant role
in country’s life. Other oppositional parties have also almost
nothing in positive. SDPU(u) and Labor Party have called meetings and gathering
and declared themselves opposition. The first party is a classical one, the
latter – “qualified”. Progressive socialists were just a cannon fodder
taking an active part in rallies for The Party of Regions and SDPU(u). So, they
have totally compromised themselves having mixed up with these bourgeois
parties. Dmytro Korchynsky and his “Brotherhood” have
come out of political stage. To be more exact, out of subjects of political
process they turned into the subjects of MIA investigation, the department
dealing with hooligans, in particular. The important sum-up of the 100 days of
opposition was the realization that there is someone else in the opposition,
except the listed above parties. The Socialist Party is ready to blow a strike to
the new authorities. Socialists’ leader has been getting ready to go to
opposition. The first warning was at the Government building
where a rally, protesting against agricultural policy, took place. The pick of
Socialist Party, Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, Olaxandr Baranivsky, the
Minister in Agricultural Matters and the Minister of Education and Science,
Stanislav Nikolaenko, had to listen to calf and piglet squealing.
Later on SPU declared it was against Ukraine’s
integration into NATO that meant distrust to Ukraine’s foreign policy. All in
all Moroz criticized Yushchenko for not conducting political reform that will
make him far less powerful. Their shady union with Russian Ukraine-phobic
party “Motherland” does not add their attraction as well. …today’s opposition keeps on emphasizing that
the current administration is not eternal and it will be surely substituted.
Well, that’s true. But the same thing is with the opposition itself.
Eugene Ivantsov , 10.05.2005,
10:40
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