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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

BORN OF A BESIEGED PARLIAMENT

13 November, 2012 - 00:00

The new Speaker did not seem to suffer from Rukh's accusations of misappropriating loans given the Land and People Association he used to head. Those asking questions received his answer back in February 1995 when he declared in a televised interview: "My work before I was elected People's Deputy is my own business, and no one can control my personal life.

The new Speaker Oleksandr Tkachenko's credo may well be summed up as a skill to remain in office regardless of the changes in the "course of reforms."

Actually, there are less than a dozen such old timers in Ukrainian politics. As for the rumors about his premiership that received a fresh impetus recently, due to Valery Pustovoitenko's expected resignation, they are more evidence that Mr. Tkachenko is very close to the peak of the political Olympus. One ought to remember that the man succeeded in remaining a nonpublic politician even as a Vice Speaker in the previous Parliament.

BACKGROUND

One thing is certain: Oleksandr Tkachenko has always acted hand in glove with the agrarian sector. Party affiliation notwithstanding, all the Agrarians come to terms over matters relating to government loans to agriculture, government procurements, and budget subsidies for social and cultural programs in the countryside.

The Agrarians remain strong and make up probably the very last bastion of former Soviet administrators who have timely and aptly adjusted themselves to the new rules of the game.

CHARACTER

Probably one of the reasons of Mr. Tkachenko's political longevity is his character. On the one hand, he shows a rigid style of administration, akin to Marshal Zhukov, his idol. On the other hand, previous Deputies recall that, when presiding over plenary meetings, his conduct as Speaker was often unpredictable. Talking of his character, Mr. Tkachenko has marked his presence in the new Parliament by two public scandals, involving Roman Zvarych and Anatoly Matviyenko. It is believed, however, that he makes up for such public attacks by backstage reconciliatory maneuvers, something peculiar to the old party school, but which does not always work in the new conditions. Of course, there is every reasons to expect Mr. Tkachenko to master the Speaker's trade, as was the case with Ivan Pliushch. However, one must admit that this process would be most effective in a nonpartisan Parliament. Under the circumstances, playing tough does not seem the Speaker's greatest asset.

STYLE

It is safe to assume that after electing Oleksandr Tkachenko public policy suffered yet another fiasco, compared to the practice of "personal relationships." The new Speaker did not seem to suffer from Rukh's accusations of misappropriating loans given the Land and People Association he used to head. Those asking questions received his answer back in February 1995 when he declared in a televised interview: "My work before I was elected People's Deputy is my own business, and no one can control my personal life." Subsequent events proved him right. Mr. Tkachenko's private life – and even his political persuasions – are known in very narrow circles.

As for his ideology, it seems best described by his Agrarian Party fellow member Serhiy Dovhan who spoke at the Socialist convention in June: "We do not know how much Left we have turned." Everything points to Mr. Tkachenko being little concerned about ideological issues. After all, he said openly that it was possible to form a majority based on CPU, Left Center, and NDP.

The most important component of his modus operandi is the ability to create situations in which all those having to deal with him find it hard to understand what is actually going on. The most vivid example is the situation with the Progressive Socialists when Mr. Tkachenko, being actively supported by this faction, declared at the very first news conference as Speaker that it is necessary to change the number of Deputies required to form a faction. The Progressive Socialist Party, with its 14 members, is on the verge "factionalism," so it could have hardly enjoyed such hints. We will see further on that such methods are constantly used, without regard for the target or circumstances.

TKACHENKO AND PARLIAMENT

There no doubt that the new Speaker is one of the most "anti-parliamentary" politicians, assuming that "parliamentarism" is a process of open political confrontation which, nevertheless, results in as open compromises. It is just possible that Mr. Tkachenko is very much aloof from all those parties, factions, etc., and that he is totally engrossed in own very individual style.

TKACHENKO AND THE CABINET

Relations between the new Speaker and the Cabinet are so far strongly reminiscent of political bargaining. Before he was elected, the government became very friendly with Land and People. The Speaker reciprocated, declaring that retiring the Cabinet would be inexpedient at the moment, promising that Parliament would adopt changes in the budget bill as proposed by the government. Further scenarios may be quite versatile.

TKACHENKO AND THE PRESIDENT

The formal relationship between Tkachenko and Kuchma will be anything but simple. On the one hand, thus far Speaker Tkachenko does not seem aware of Parliament's corporate interest (as was the case with Oleksandr Moroz, even if largely due to personal preferences), and on the other, he will have to operate in an essentially new situation, because Parliament is now party-structured. In the nearest future (at least until a majority has been formed) all of the factions will determine their politics proceeding from the President's stand (i.e., by responding to it), so the Speaker will have to show his hand, sooner or later, when it comes to choosing between confronting factions or the President. So far, there is balanced Speaker-President bargaining.

PROSPECTS

In fact, the main conflict which will decide Mr. Tkachenko's political destiny is that of public and nonpublic politics. Despite outward differences, the new Speaker will find it considerably easier to come to terms with the executive, because for these people ideology is their job, rather than conviction. There one thing that makes Mr. Tkachenko different from most executive bureaucrats is that so far he can afford to say what he really thinks. They cannot. However, this does not prevent them all from acting in a similar manner, or at least understanding each other well enough. Thus, it is possible that we will soon witness a formal conflict between the Speaker and the executive and his actual confrontation with Parliament. If nothing like that happens it will only mean that shadow politics proved stronger than its open counterpart.

Now that he is full public view, the Speaker will before long show his positive and negative traits and how both will develop, along with his office. There is, however, one reliable guarantee of remaining an effective Speaker: staying away from the microphone as much as possible.

Photo by Valery Miloserdov, The Day:

Oleksandr Tkachenko

 

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