Sicilian Defense

It is symbolic that the message to the world about candidate Lazarenko came first from Switzerland, to be specific, from Paul Gulli-Hart, former Premier and People's Deputy's legal eagle. And the decision made by Hromada on the eve of Mr. Lazarenko's new wrangles with Swiss justice supports the tactics his defense has chosen.

However, in earlier private conversations Pavlo Lazarenko ruled out any possibility of his nomination for a quite understandable reason: "they will sic all the dogs on me." Interestingly, Oleksandr Moroz also expressed in the press his doubts on the wisdom of an independent march by Lazarenko to the political Olympus. "They have already hung so many dogs on him," said Socialism's leading Solon. But on returning home from his Swiss captivity, Pavlo Ivanovych unambiguously announced at a press conference that the period of hesitation, that is, "when one side picks on you and you pretend to fight it off," is over. The limit has been exceeded and now everything will be "serious."

No matter how hard they may try to convince us that Lazarenko is "nobody, nothing, and no way," and Hromada is not a party but a midget, the whole newspaper pages (or more like bedspreads) now devoted to it, as well as the "not one day without Lazarenko" national telecast, point as such to the fact that if there were no Lazarenko and Hromada, they would have had to be invented. Displaying Lazarenko as an antihero has been accomplished with the usual dull but active participation of the powers that be, and the star's own questions - "If Lazarenko goes, who will be scapegoat then? Will the presidential campaign be blown then?" - begin to make sense. And Lazarenko's statement that he is prepared to consciously "take the heaviest blow of the whole repressive apparatus; it wont hurt anymore than it does now," sounds reasonable as well. Thus, by entering the presidential race Pavlo Lazarenko (of course, if he is not stopped) appears primarily to be intensifying the breakup of the pre-election scenario of the Left vs. the incumbent "reformer," on which the current regime and constructive opposition have obviously bet the farm by nominating ex-Foreign Minister Hennady Udovenko. The latter's main task in the first round is to take votes away from Yevhen Marchuk, primarily, in the West, and then to withdraw from the battle to give way to the "reformer."

The Hromada congress has shown that one should not deceive oneself, for what is going on in the party is anything but a schism. And, in fact, what kind of schism are we talking about? The one planned in the Presidential Administration involving "all those who are against us"? As long as voluntarist Lazarenko remains, any unauthorized move in regional organizations will entail changes in leadership rather than in landmarks. This is the first point. Second, and this is actually the main thing, is that with the quota-based distribution of committees in Parliament (which also involves Karmazin's committee [concerned with legal support to law enforcement activity]) Yuliya Tymoshenko, the Chairwoman of such a prestigious Budgetary Committee, by bidding farewell to Hromada (along with Oleksandr Turchynov of the same committee), will virtually automatically be ejected from the budgetary chair. Whether she will be warmly welcomed in the presidential entourage remains a big question. Another question is whether the rebellious Yuliya will be comfortable with such a prospect.

Ms. Tymoshenko will not go beyond what has already happened. This is what she actually gave to understand in her Zerkalo nedeli interview when she clearly stated that any split must be avoided, she is not leaving the party and not running for President, that is, Mr. Lazarenko will be irritated by this no further. And she will not please the Administration by steering away from a self-destructing Lazarenko, given that everything that has happened to him are "elements of political elimination" by those currently in power.

Obviously, the falling out of the two deputy chairs of the party before the congress is evidence of their youthful impulsiveness called forth by both objective and subjective factors. For instance, is it possible to assume that there is some relation between the anti-Lazarenko statements of Tymoshenko and Turchynov in the press, and a budget, pending presidential signature, which, at the cost of enormous efforts and dickering, incorporated a solution to the debt problems of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine through mutual offsets?

Without Lazarenko there is no Hromada. Today there is Hromada, which has extended its branches into provinces, and showed wise, serious young people at the congress, and demonstrated unity in its attitude toward its leader. At the closing of the congress, one-time national pride of the former country Dmytro Hnatiuk performed a cappella "Many Years," this land's traditional birthday song to Ukraine, Hromada and to all those present in the hall. It was moving and painful.

However, the congress gave a   major ovation to its guest, Serhiy Holovaty who represents Kyiv's My (We) association: "If Kuchma remains for the second term, you may be sure that the Constitutional Court will say that he was President only one term, for the first term was before the adoption of the Constitution. And then he will be the President a third time!

"And what is 'Three Kuchmas' in one Ukrainian generation? Hence, the key task for all opposition forces in the east, west, south, the Crimea, in Galicia, for the Left, the Right, and the Centrists is to unite and to secure the victory of the opposition! It could be anybody, but Ukraine needs another President!"

What a state has this country been driven to when even two Kuchmas, to say nothing of three, could really look an evil much worse than all Lazarenko's misdeeds.

However, as one well-informed person said, if you proceed from the principle "I will not offer you my hand because you live beyond your means," then in the corridors of power you will have no one to shake hands with.