Anatoly TOLSTOUKHOV: NDP is prepared to put up its candidate for president
Some of the political forces that once formed the United Ukraine bloc have been clearly on the rise lately, convincingly demonstrating an attitude of their own. Among these forces is the People’s Democratic Party (NDP) of Ukraine faction. The NDP took a special stand for the first time when the majority made an unsuccessful attempt to dismiss Volodymyr Stelmakh from the office of National Bank governor — a large number of the faction members refused to support the majority’s overall decision. NDP continued to show “dissent” thereafter. For example, the faction took a generally positive attitude to the decision to give the committees back to the opposition. Yet, as an NDP leader Anatoly Tolstoukhov claims, the People’s Democrats do not aim to undermine the majority. They only intend to help it work in a more productive way, so that there are fewer reasons to say that, as The Day’s interviewee put it, “we have different majorities on weekends and on weekdays.”
“The second session of the 4th Verkhovna Rada began with the appearance of political structuralization and a cementing of the pro-presidential majority. However, after the December 17 decision regarding the redistribution of committee leadership was called off, some politicians said the majority had collapsed and others claimed it was in a deep crisis. How would you assess the lineup of parliamentary forces as of the day Verkhovna Rada went into recess? Is it really time to ‘bury’ the majority?”
“Whether there is or is not a majority in parliament does not depend on what individual deputies think. Nobody has thus far disavowed the documents signed by parliamentary factions and groups. So, in my opinion, the majority still exists. The trouble is that some factions failed to implement their plans, which brought about bitter comments. Indeed, the Verkhovna Rada underwent radical changes after the December 24 voting. However, I see no reason why we should get back again to this situation. Whatever the case, no highest legislative body can work smoothly without a viable majority and minority, which in turn require that certain conditions be met. When crucial political issues are being voted on and differences between the two parts of parliament are so acute that this ends up in a face-off, we see 226, 229, or 240 on the display board. This means the parliamentary majority and minority are waging an unrelenting struggle, but the majority still sticks to its guns. But when parliament is considering the laws of national importance, these may poll 400 or even more votes. In other words, in addition to a political majority, there can also be an ad hoc majority. This means the Ukrainian parliament has been structuralized, it works by the principles of democracy and does not depend on the will of individual deputies or some external forces.”
“Is the majority likely to regroup in the near future by co- opting some minority factions? Is such a regrouping of any use?”
“I think that the synchronization and coordination of decisions between majority and minority members is today more important and feasible. With the presidential elections coming up, the political distinguishing lines, as well as differences of an expedient and crowd- pleasing nature, will be still more discernible. It is of paramount importance in this case to continue maintaining certain cooperation.”
“A few weeks ago, NDP member Oleksandr Karpov resigned as majority coordinator. The post remains vacant, with no suitable candidatures in sight. What can be done to solve this problem?”
“This will depend on the format in which the parliamentary majority will be working. It is not ruled out that everything will be finally decided on Monday by the reconciliation board. On the other hand, it is essential that coordination be continuous, not just from session to session. Besides, majority coordination is directly linked to the attitude of the Verkhovna Rada speaker. The parliamentary majority might use the following mechanism: the Verkhovna Rada speaker in fact heads the majority; his first deputy can stand in for him in everyday work, and the majority can also assemble on other occasions. Do not forget that faction leaders are also party leaders. Therefore, when they assemble as part of the majority, they can preside over meetings by turns or appoint a coordinator for the period of the session.”
“In an interview with our newspaper, Mr. Karpov and then SDPU (O) faction leader Leonid Kravchuk in fact accused Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn of ‘betraying’ the majority’s interests. Do you agree with this?”
“Our faction has never assessed the Verkhovna Rada speaker’s performance in these terms, so we cannot share this viewpoint — not only because we once put up Mr. Lytvyn as leader of the For a United Ukraine bloc and supported his election as speaker. I am fully aware of how difficult it is to collect the interests of all parliamentary groups and factions into one ‘bunch.’ Yet, the fact that we spectacularly broke the deadlock at the end of last year, adopted the budget and the laws that will promote budgetary revenues, shows that Mr. Lytvyn did his best to make parliament work fruitfully. After all, what matters is the way the whole parliament, not just the majority, works. And parliament has fulfilled its tasks at the current stage. So I reject the very idea that the Verkhovna Rada needs a new speaker. I would even proclaim Mr. Lytvyn Politician of the Year 2002 — not because he ranks higher than others in polls but because he, stepping out of the President’s shadow last year, managed not to drown in the waves of public politics.”
“The NDP has been actively insisting that Ukraine be transformed into a parliamentary- presidential republic. Do the People’s Democrats perhaps not see a viable presidential candidate in their own ranks?”
“Firstly, a party capable of forming the top leadership of the Cabinet, the Verkhovna Rada, and the Presidential Administration is also capable of putting up a candidate of its own for the office of the head of state. Secondly, if the actual situation prompts us to support a non-NDP candidate, this will not mean he is not our candidate. Although Mr. Lytvyn is not an NDP member, we backed him as candidate for bloc leader and speaker.
“As to political reform proper, it is the whole country, not NDP, that needs it. It seems to me all have already accepted this. For what the government, society, the common people, and the state need is, respectively, updating, cohesion, well-being, and worldwide prestige. None of these goals can be achieved without changes in precisely the political sphere. The question of political reform is the question of whether we will be moving forward and achieving progress or still be marking time and quarreling with each other.”
“Yet, the matter is still confined to words alone. Do you think we can discuss today any concrete time span for the political reform?”
“I find it difficult to answer this question. On the one hand, there are initiators of the reform, such as the President of Ukraine and the political forces that did at the very outset and still do pledge support for it. Yet, no practical steps have so far been taken to implement the reform. Which raises the question: is this a big game or just our inability to put into practice the things society is so much interested in?”
“What do you think is the root cause of all ailments of the Ukrainian ruling elite?”
“The Ukrainian ruling elite has many of those who declare things, still more of those who press things, but it is critically short of those who work. This statement is an answer to many questions and perhaps the diagnosis of today’s Ukrainian politics in general. A government that always exhausts itself with internecine fighting loses public trust and international prestige. It reduces itself from the level of politics to that of political PR.”
“Political scientists prophesy that all major contenders for the presidential chair will be named this year. What is more, many believe that the ‘party of power’ will fail to nominate a single candidate. What do you think of this?”
“But do we have a party of power? Ukraine badly needs one, but it does not exist, unfortunately. Nor did it exist in the previous years. I don’t think it will materialize before the presidential elections. Therefore, there will be no single candidate: there are no prerequisites for this.”
“Do you think the idea of a single party based on For a United Ukraine will not be toyed with again?”
“It is too late to toy with it. A single party should have been formed immediately after — still better, before, or at least during — the parliamentary elections. We wrote in our documents about a single faction and a new nationwide party. But as soon as we came to parliament, we saw other kind of scenarios. It will be hardly possible now to rewrite the play, let alone compose a new one.”
“What qualities must be in the candidate whom NDP is ready to support? Do you see such individuals among the Ukrainian politicians?”
“This should be a person who can cement the political forces and the whole society, enjoys public trust, is acceptable for the international community, and capable of taking concrete, consistent and resolute steps in the economy, social sphere, environmental protection, culture, and other walks of life. Any society has these kind of people. Yet, I wouldn’t like to name somebody specifically. Regrettably, our political practice and techniques of political struggle are such that, as soon as a certain name has been named, the individual becomes the object of scheming. On the other hand, it is too early. A presidential election is a bout in the ring. Today, a lot of people are ‘hanging around’ it. Still, I think that even the most impatient of them will begin climbing up into the ring in the fall at the earliest. Meanwhile, the future candidates will be getting ready for battles in the quiet of the offices, not in public — i.e., intellectually, by drawing up programs.”
“Will NDP’s choice depend on the extent to which the candidate will be ready to tap your party’s human resources?”
“Of course, it will. Can we possibly take a fair view of the presidential candidate who is not going to tap NDP’s human resources? Let us see which of the parties has given this country the greatest number of premiers, ministers, Presidential Administration heads, and governors. There is no other party like NDP in Ukraine. Then why should the future President not take due account of its human resources?”
