On November 10 Yevhen Marchuk gave the first press conference as NDSC Secretary. He said, “The European tradition of political compromise is perhaps emerging in Ukraine. I am interested in extending this tradition to all levels of power. My consultations with the President were anything but simple. This is only natural. He is well aware of my critical views on a number of issues.”
Mr. Marchuk believes that every responsible politician must be interested in implementing his program and should use every opportunity to do so. Otherwise political activities will turn into a mere hobby.
The development of the institutions of a civil society, creation of an effective vehicle of public control over the executive, decriminalization of power and the economy, the intellectualization of power and society — such are the key points of his New Ukrainian Development Strategy, a document he submitted to President Kuchma. Mr. Marchuk notified the leadership of his nominating party of his decision and it was approved in principle.
When asked whether his attitude to Leonid Kuchma has changed, Mr. Marchuk replied, “The President knew my stand and my critical statements, still he made his decision. He is risking in a way, because there are still differences in our approaches.” Nevertheless, he is convinced that cooperation among political opponents must become standard practice, destroying Ukraine’s image as a battlefield with inveterate combatants on both sides of the barricade. The all-and-now principle has long been discarded in the political practice of advanced European countries.
“This society is polarized before the second round,”he pointed out.“ I joined the campaign with a number of concepts, of which the most important one is bringing the nation together.” As NDSC Secretary, he intends to work to carry them out, including the unifying idea, of course.“ I agreed to the post because it allows me to defend my stand within the structure of power,” he stressed. “But if the Communists come to power any dialogue will be out of the question forever.”
Mr. Marchuk also declared that he will deal with his parliamentary status in accordance with the law, meaning he will quit Parliament and resign as chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Social Policy and Labor Committee.
During the last elections, Russian politicians demonstrated their skill at political compromise when in a similar situation Boris Yeltsin appointed Aleksandr Lebed Secretary of the Security Council and fired him several months later. When asked whether the analogy applied, Yevhen Marchuk replied, “Politics is an art of the possible. Frankly speaking, if I succeed in accomplishing some of what I am in politics for, I will consider this fine. As a politician, I regard a post in the system of state power primarily as a vehicle to implement my program, not a job.”
He added that he would not analyze Aleksandr Lebed “as a politician and individual,” yet “the fact alone that his name is associated with the end of the Chechnya War means that he will go down in history regardless of his political biography.”
Whether the European tradition of political compromise can be asserted in Ukraine, unlike Russia, and whether Yevhen Marchuk can carry out his program, wholly or partially, will become clear in the immediate future.
FROM THE DAY’S FILES
The National Defense and Security Council is a coordinating body subordinated directly to the President of Ukraine. It is responsible for the coordination and supervision of executive authorities in matters pertaining to national security and defense. It is entitled to determine Ukraine’s strategic national interests, conceptual approaches and trends in providing for national security and defense in the military, scientific-technological, ecological, information, and other spheres; engage controlling, inspection, and supervisory bodies operating as part of the executive branch in exercising control over the timeliness and quality of the performance of NSDC decisions.
NSDC is headed by the President of Ukraine and is made up of the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, chief of the SBU, and Internal Affairs Minister, and Foreign Minister.
The NSDC Secretary is appointed and dismissed by the President of Ukraine and reports directly to the chief executive. He organizes NSDC work and monitors the implementation of its decisions.
The NSDC Secretary coordinates the efforts of the Council’s working and consulting bodies as well as submits to the President draft presidential edicts enacting NSDC decisions.






