How to create a new image of yourself?

Hanna Hopko and Semen Semenchenko, nominees from the political party “Samopomich,” numbers one and two on the candidates list, have been to Lviv these days. We asked Hanna HOPKO several questions after her meeting with journalism students at the Ivan Franko Lviv National University.

Why did you choose joining a party instead of running as a simple-majority constituency nominee?

“The team is of crucial importance. What changes would be possible if I were to run alone? Then I would have to choose which coalition to join. Priority tasks are important in team play, you cannot do anything without it. Petro Poroshenko did not have a team, which is why dealing with a lot of issues at the Presidential Administration is procrastinated, instead of being accelerated. This is happening due to the lack of professionals. When going into politics, one must realize the importance of organization of your people, who will not let you down, who will be professional and effective, and thus secure the result.”

Campaign ads are on every corner now. And this is while war is going on, in which the Ukrainian army is largely supported and provided by volunteers. Don’t you find this cynical?

“A lot looks cynical today. For example, when the mayor of Kyiv did not prepare the city for the winter, and is leading a party to run for the parliamentary election again, three months after giving up parliamentary membership for mayor’s office. I did not see any ‘Obama’s Bloc’ in the US. Or when international standards are not implemented in time to free Nadia Savchenko – this is speculation over her name now. The predominance of campaign ads is typical for old political forces, which are known enough already. And for forces which are new and offer an alternative today, this is a step they are forced to take. It is hard to tell much about themselves in such a short period of time without outdoor advertising and access to oligarch-owned TV channels.”

How can you comment on the reception of former president Leonid Kuchma and his presents by Lviv mayor and leader of Samopomich Andrii Sadovy?

“The mayor of Lviv represents the interests of the city residents. In this case, when someone visits Lviv, it is the mayor’s personal choice. My decision of not going to the YES Summit was my personal choice. I did not represent the Reanimation Package of Reforms then, and did not go as a person who has a stand of their own. If the given situation is important for Lviv dwellers’ interests, which Andrii Sadovy represents, then it is up to him to decide.”

How did party members react to it?

“We get only a couple of hours’ sleep every day. We don’t even have time to react to Liovochkin and Firtash, and only wonder what kind of provocations and mudslinging can happen during the last three days. We find it conceivable that law-enforcement bodies might be used in order to apply pressure, etc. That is why physically there is no time for this. For example, I don’t even have time to answer my e-mails, which leaves many offended.”

I have been monitoring your Facebook page and did not see a single post dedicated to this event, even though you used to criticize Kuchma a lot before.

“My opinion of Kuchma has not changed. I just physically don’t have enough time to post something analytical about the ongoing events. If you read my April and May posts, they tell about everything that happened then. But now I have enough time only for making photo reports. I don’t even have time to register my impressions, to sit down and think through what has happened during the day, which is very important if you want to stay sane.”

Don’t you find that this reception by Sadovy boosted Kuchma’s image but tarnished that of Samopomich?

“I think that any person, who wants to give a grand piano, library, or something else, must do it in secret, so says the Bible. That is why you should ask people giving the presents why they do it. Does it prompted by a kind heart, or is it just a PR action? Do good not to be thanked, but because you feel it must be done, and cannot do otherwise, they say. There are smart people who will evaluate these publicity manipulations. Responsibility lies with those who boost their popularity with such actions.”

The Cabinet of Ministers published the list of the first officials fired under the Law “On Lustration,” which also included Ihor Kabanenko. What does this mean?

“There are three percent of incredibly professional people, who should be working for the sake of the nation and who have the expertise, but they fall under the lustration law. Also, there are some inaccuracies relating to the type of work they have been performing. The law must be perfected, so we do not lose patriotic people. And all the scoundrels must be banished. This is a small sacrifice.”

Learning about your removal from mass media is a kind of a tradition rooted in the Soviet style of management. Why does the new government keep on using these methods after the Revolution of Dignity?

“Because the mechanisms of implementation of this law are imperfect. There will be attempts to discredit lustration in all ways possible. There are mechanisms now that allow to avoid lustration. For example, when you obtain a certificate about serving in the Anti-Terrorist Operation zone, and then come under amnesty. This costs four to five thousand dollars. We must understand that we are living in such horrible and rotting system which will cling to anything to survive. This is the opportunity for new approaches to break through – when this system disappears and new Ukraine with new approaches is built. We see how the Law ‘On Lustration’ is trying to cleanse the government on the one hand, but on the other, how this system will try to discredit that very law in any way possible, showing that it is unimportant, unnecessary, etc.”

One of the main demands of the Reanimation Package of Reforms was the transparent funding of political parties. But it was not heard. Who finances your party?

“Oleksii Skrypnyk, co-founder of the ELEKS software provider, Oleksandr Danchenko, director general of Datagroup, Ivan Miroshnichenko, former director general of Noble Resources Ukraine. I also provide a part of the sum, even though a rather modest one. Recently, an entrepreneur from Lviv transferred 100,000 hryvnias to our account. Also people from other cities donate money. These are medium business owners, who realize they want to have a say in the state politics. They do not simply want to be left alone, on the contrary, they want to become the system’s drive and dictate their demands. And they need representatives for that.”