A court congress

The main question on the eve of the United Opposition’s congress was whether something had been done to correct the mistakes.

The drawing-up of Fatherland lists in 2006 and 2007 should have taught the current oppositionists that the “seat in exchange for money” formula is advantageous but, at the same time, unstable and treacherous with respect to politicians, voters and interests of the state.

The first thing that has raised doubt today is the closeness of lists. In spite of Yulia Tymoshenko’s call to open up the lists several months ago, they were made public as late as at yesterday morning’s congress.

Incidentally, the congress was held at 13, Turivska St, in the courtyard of the Fatherland office. According to the oppositionists themselves, the “government of bandits” failed to give them any premises, so they had to gather here. Actually, the United Opposition congress was to have been held at 11 a.m. at the International Exhibition Center on Kyiv’s Left Bank.

It will be recalled that the congress was postponed to 8 a.m. because, on the pro-governmental majority’s initiative, parliament held a special session at 10 a.m. yesterday.

As it was forecast, the congress’s results stirred up a lot of scandals. Many of the present-day parliamentary oppositionists failed to find themselves on the party or first-past-the-post lists. One of them is Taras Stetskiv. “It was to be expected that I am not on the party lists,” the MP says.

“As long as a year ago I clearly told both Yulia Tymoshenko and Yurii Lutsenko that I did not want be on the list and suggested supporting me in the first-past-the-post constituency. Why they opted for Ihor Vasiunyk in the 117th first-past-the-post constituency in Lviv is a question to somebody else, not me.”