Oleksandr VOLKOV: After candidates for president are nnominated, you can forget about political reform
Views aired by the outspoken people’s deputy Oleksandr Volkov, SDPU(o) faction member, have been always noted for their directness. Oleksandr Mykhailovych lived up to expectations yet again when The Day approached him for comment on the situation in the parliament after Christmas holidays.
“There were quite a few changes in the line-up of parliamentary forces in the last days of the year. First, the majority took over committees from the opposition. Then part of the majority supported the opposition’s motion to revoke the above decision. After that the leader of your faction, Leonid Kravchuk, stated that as a result of this the majority broke up. To quote Nestor Shufrych, another SDPU(o) representative, we have a majority and the vote on the budget bill is evidence that three more factions, namely Our Ukraine, BYuT, and SPU, have joined it. How would you assess the situation with the parliamentary majority? Does it really exist or is it only assumed?”
“Unfortunately, my September assessment of the majority still holds true. What I then said was ‘there is no majority, it exists only on paper.’ At that moment there were 231 ayes. If someone is saying that we currently have a majority, let him name at least one effective vote on political issues. We haven’t seen anything of the kind. In September I said, ‘Fellows, nothing will work out without Yushchenko.’ So it happened. I’m glad that our leaders have finally understood that and closed ranks with Our Ukraine. But these three hundred odd ayes we got on the budget bill vote and on some other issues are not a majority. It is a situational formation, which will exist until candidates are nominated for president. Then it will break up into certain coalitions supporting, respectively, Viktor Yushchenko, Petro Symonenko, Oleksandr Moroz, and Yulia Tymoshenko. Possibly, some coalition will form around Volodymyr Lytvyn. It is not ruled out that Viktor Medvedchuk will also run for president, though I don’t know it for a certainty. If he does, a powerful coalition will form around him, too. There may be other candidates with their own coalitions. Thus, before long the parliament will split into cliques with each pursuing its political interests.”
“Does the present majority, or whatever it stands for, make decisions coordinated from a single center?”
“No. Because the majority does not have a single center. To reach a decision, faction leaders need to get together and come to an agreement.”
“Does the majority need a permanent coordinator or can faction leaders take turns performing his functions?”
“This person should be a strong personality and a shrewd politician. Thus far, I haven’t seen a better coordinator in the parliament than Oleksandr Karpov.”
“Do you think it necessary for him to return to this position?”
“Absolutely. At any rate, he has what many other possible candidates lack. Specifically, Oleksandr Karpov does not aim too high in his political ambitions, and he gets along if not with everybody then with the best part of deputies.” “Before the new year Leonid Kravchuk said that your faction’s tactic for the immediate future would be ‘free sailing.’ What about now?”
“It hasn’t changed. As you can see, nobody tells me how to vote. This is the right stand, because deputies are not a flock of sheep. Today people’s deputies should be given a chance to make independent decisions.”
“What is to be done now to consolidate the majority?”
“We should come to an agreement with one another.”
“Within the majority or between the majority and opposition?”
“First we need to come to an agreement within the majority and mostly on political issues. But I’ll put it straight. This will be extremely difficult, since the majority has a number of leaders who will run for president.”
“Do you consider it necessary to continue cooperation with the opposition, in part, Our Ukraine?”
“Absolutely. Now we need it more than ever. On August 24, 2002, President Leonid Kuchma put forward the idea of political reform. He is ready to delegate some of his powers to the parliament. Now is the unique moment to effect political reform. Thus far no one has stated openly his intentions to run for president, and currently there is the required number of votes in the parliament to effect constitutional changes. Therefore we need to address these issues and take them to the vote at the upcoming session. For it will be too late when balloting for the presidential nomination begins.”
“Some opposition representatives have stated their inten
tions to demand that the decision to appoint the NBU board chairman be taken to the vote once again. What do you think of such an idea?”
“It’s all very simple. If you do not know how to end it, you shouldn’t start altogether. Now that they voted to revoke one decision, all the opposition has to do is press forward, and another decision will be revoked.”
“In the wake of the December scuffles in the parliament many spoke about the need for parliamentary police. What do you think of that?”
“I’m all for it. What we witnessed were wanton acts of violence. The left kept provoking fights. Some must have got the wrong idea about my actions that day. I mean then I was defending Volodymyr Lytvyn not merely as a person. I was defending the speaker. We should be civilized people and follow the most elementary rules of interpersonal relations. The more so that we call ourselves democrats. If you have objections, let us discuss them but only within the limits of the Constitution and laws, as humans and not brutes. Regrettably, I was the only one to defend the speaker. The majority just sat on their hands and watched what was going on with wry smiles on their faces. Incidentally, parliamentary police have been already introduced in Russia.”
“How would you characterize your faction’s relationship with Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn?”
“This is a normal working relationship. Deputies turn to him for advice.”
“Word has it, the United Social Democrats are going to press for his resignation. They are said to have been collecting signatures...”
“Let’s not listen to gossip and hearsay. If signatures were being collected, I, for one, would know about it as an SDPU(o) faction member. I have never even seen a document with such signatures; neither have I seen a document with signatures for the dismissal of General Prosecutor Sviatoslav Piskun.”
“Let us once again return to the issue of presidential elections. Most analysts tend to think that the party in power will have only one real chance of winning the presidential elections, provided they nominate one common candidate. It follows from what you have said that a couple of candidates will run for president. Still, is it pos
sible that only one candidate will be nominated?” “This is out of the question.”
“What makes it impossible?”
“Plain human ambitions. What prevented the left from uniting and nominating a single candidate in 1994 or 1999? Nothing but ambitions. Nataliya Vitrenko, Oleksandr Moroz, and Petro Symonenko failed to reach an agreement. Currently, the party in power is in the same situation. The potential candidates are now under some pressure and thus are keeping a low profile. But with the approach of the elections this will change.”
“The government of Viktor Yanukovych is to present its action plan in February. What do you expect to see in it?”
“Before anything else, I expect to see the initiatives to resolve the current political crisis in the parliament. Of course, I would like to see a realistic program of economic development of the country. In 1999, when the incumbent president was elected, he put forward a program of economic development for a decade. I would like to see it specified for the short term.”
