By Tetiana KOROBOVA, The Day
As The Day's correspondent learned, the democratic wing of the People's
Democratic Party (NDP) is considering nominating their leader Anatoly Matviyenko
as presidential candidate.
The main argument here is the thesis that the next elections do not
mean the end of life, politics, or participation in either. The party wants
to preserve itself as a political force by plunging into open political
struggle. What is not said aloud is perhaps a chance to save Mr. Matviyenko
himself and his NDP (opposing Tolstoukhov) from being beaten to a pulp
for disobedience by nominating the former. If, as Ihor Koliushko notes
sarcastically, "all politics consists in coming first and kissing the highest
butt," then the position of Mr. Matviyenko, who does not fit in with this
kind of "policy," and his colleagues becomes quite dangerous for the NDP
cadres and SDPU(u) leadership after their running around.
"New" Rukh leader Yuri Kostenko has confirmed that the parties negotiating
a bloc and a single presidential candidate are prepared to consider the
candidacy of Mr. Matviyenko, Viktor Pynzenyk (Reforms and Order), and Mr.
Kostenko himself. The bloc may, in his words, also contain the Green Party.
Answering The Day's question if we can imagine, as a last resort,
several center-right candidates in the elections so that the electorate
will a wider choice, Mr. Kostenko said, "I am sure if five or six parties
go to nominate a single candidate, it can be a serious election and not
just a crafty game." However, many members of the proposed bloc also stick
to the following position: the main thing is to keep Leonid Kuchma from
getting through to the second round, and then support the non-Left candidate.
The Day's reporter asked Academician Kostiantyn Sytnyk, People's
Deputy and an NDP elder, to comment on the emerging situation:
"It never seemed to me we have a 'short substitute bench,' as
the current President once said. I thought at the time: is the Ukrainian
soil really so poor in intellectually endowed people? No, Mr. Kuchma is
wrong. Nor are those right who (as I hear almost all the time) say: 'And
who else?' I think if we now enter this so much reviled session hall, we
will find a dozen potential candidates, won't we? For instance, everybody
talks about Medvedchuk - and why not? I can name Filipchuk from Rukh: I
work with him on a committee and can say he is a very deep person. And
the leader of our party Mr. Matviyenko quite meets the highest demands
we might make on a future President. And Mr. Kostenko? He is also a personality.
I am now in my seventies, but I said even ten and twenty years ago: we
must not follow the line of gerontocracy. We keep young people at bay,
and we should see to it that this time they make it. If they don't, we
must begin today, though we should have done this yesterday.
"I can also recall older people, such as Mr. Kinakh. But he is not on
the list. There are also inner moral obligations on the current President,
but no one knows what determined them. I don't understand such things in
politics. There should be fair play, for we must enable the people of this
country to make a choice among truly brilliant people.
"Yes, there are some fears about their destiny. Great fears. I know
there are assaults on certain specific politicians who so far only try
to express their opinion. There are still no grounds to expect political
cleanliness. Quite recently I enjoyed such a quality as naivetО and optimism.
I have lost this optimism literally in the past month."






