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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

Yevhen Marchuk: “Is it worthwhile asking whether the Bulgarian option is possible with us? No, it’s already unfolding”

13 November, 2012 - 00:00

On the eve of the Speaker’s election The Day turns to People’s Deputy and leading Social Democrat Yevhen Marchuk.

The Day: How do you see the opposition in the new Parliament?

YM: The widespread stereotype that the Left is the only opposition is not quite correct. The Thirteenth Parliament was led by the leaders of leftist parties with the support of leftist members. Is it possible to say then that the Left bears no responsibility for the situation in the country? The pro-presidential Constitutional Center took no real action against the Left. Recently the People’s Democratic Party (NDP) demand in the Fourteenth Parliament that the President rescind one of his most recent decrees on the VAT is a clear sign of their position of opposition in Parliament. The NDP, not the Communists or Socialists, have launched the first parliamentary attack on President Kuchma. Thus the problem of the self-identification of the opposition is likely to last a long time. The Left’s opposition to President Kuchma or of Hromada to the government reflects the interpersonal conflicts of their leaders and not differences of strategic principle.

After it gets organized the opposition will still have to decide what it is really responsible for. This will be especially acute should a Leftist be elected Speaker.

The Day: The Speaker’s election will be a unique test for the new Parliament. Will it be a positive one?

YM: I remind you that the Left’s absolutely obvious claims on the Speaker’s chair are not completely unequivocal. You see, a Left Speaker would mean eight years of responsibility for the legal history of this period. And this, as we know, has serious disadvantages. The Left has qualified analysts. One may assume that they approach seriously the issue of how to prevent such an exotic thesis. The Leftists were instrumental in electing the then Leftist Leonid Kuchma President of Ukraine. During his presidency they have presided over Parliament and have the largest group in it. The National Democrats and the Right generally have not had a state mechanism to influence how the state and the economy are run. The situation in the economy and the social sphere is catastrophic. The Right is not responsible for it, and the Center was practically nonexistent. A President brought to power by the Left, a Parliament led by the Left, and many leftist governors are the people who have really exercised power in this country. Is it worthwhile asking whether the Bulgarian option is possible with us? No, it isn’t. It’s already unfolding.

 

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