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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

Vyacheslav CHORNOVIL: “We know how to be in opposition”

13 November, 2012 - 00:00

After the parliamentary leadership was finally elected, Rukh, looking for a special form of opposition, decided on what Vyacheslav Chornovil formulated as a "factional variation of the party's opposition to the parliamentary leadership."

The Rukh faction has already demonstrated its tough approach, lobbying against certain oil and gas interests when voting on the budget resolution, and that it can torpedo Cabinet bills. In a word, Rukh has shown that it can seriously influence political bargaining. The Day's Iryna Havrylova met with Mr. Chornovil on the eve of parliamentary vacations.

Q.: How would you explain your party's current opposition?

A.: The kind of majority we have in Parliament is best described as Leftist Mafiosi or Leftist nomenklatura, so we had no alternative but form a rigid opposition, and we showed our principled stand when struggling for the Naftohaz Ukrainy (Oil & Gas of Ukraine) bill.

Q.: NDP wants a parliamentary minority with Rukh in order to save political face for both parties. Are you ready to do this?

A.: A parliamentary minority must rest on a certain ideological platform. If we agree on this with NDP, we could try it. For the time being there is little in common between the parties – I mean our attitude to market reforms or the national issue. In fact, if we reach a consensus we could simply collect supporting signatures. Besides, this minority might well include other parties like the United Social Democrats or the Greens. Why only the NDP?

Q.: You challenged the Speaker's election in the Constitutional Court. What chance do you think you stand to win?

A.: Although the Constitution does not specify the Speaker's election procedures, pure logic says that voting 23 times is absurd. Proving this in court will be difficult, but we had to try, so that this does not become standard practice.

Q.: After Mr. Tkachenko was elected Speaker you said it wouldn't be for long. What did you have in mind?

A.: He won't last long unless he has the presence of mind to come to terms with the Parliamentary Center, because the Leftist majority is unstable. He must understand that if the Mafiosi-nomenklatura lawmakers run afoul of the Left, the latter would be left with only 170 votes. This would be the end of Tkachenko. In fact, the Speaker is already trying quietly to meet the Center halfway. I did not mean my statement to sound final. We are all human. The Speaker wants to stay in his seat, so he will make concessions.

Q.: The Speaker let seven of the President's edict pass, something the Left did not expect. Suppose he continues playing into the Right's hands, would your party lift its opposition?

A.: I find it hard to visualize Oleksandr Tkachenko taking a right turn or even toward the Right-Center. He always trims his sails to the wind, so his rapprochement with the current administration is just another sail-trimming maneuver, although it is important. He is Left-minded, but he is also pragmatic. If need be he will act contrary to his ideological persuasions, so he stands a good chance.

Photo by Valery Miloserdov, The Day:

Rukh is flexing its political muscle

 

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