Liberals Make Third Try

Just as the election campaign’s hunt for political brands is reaching its peak, with the number of Communist, Socialist, Social Democrat, Rukh, and nationalist parties exceeding all reasonable limits, few if any have been noticed to rally under liberal colors. Moreover, Yabluko has quietly transformed from a liberal into a “people’s” force. This spectacle could leave a foreign onlooker open-mouthed provided he is not familiar with Ukrainian political realities. The latter are such that the Liberals’ luck is running thin.

Set up simultaneously with others, the Liberal Party of Ukraine has from the outset relied only on the founders’ financial capacity. If substantially funded all this time and/or if the liberal idea were secured adequate media support, the situation might be different today. As it is, after Deputy Shcherban’s assassination at Donetsk Airport no one has seriously invested in the LPU, and the attempt to receive gratuitous support from the Russian intelligentsia (like the SLON bloc in the 1998 election campaign) went down the tubes with a quite flush. Small wonder, for it takes highly creative political imagining to see yesterday’s intellectuals as the carriers of liberal ideas.

Of course, there are elements of liberal ideas in quite a number of Ukrainians, so this had to take an organized form sooner or later. Two groups of noted politicians promptly ventured the project: Viktor Pinchuk of Labor Ukraine, said to be planning an election bloc called Our Force, on the one hand, and People’s Democrat Valery Khoroshkovsky with Labor Ukraine Inna Bohoslovska and their newborn New Liberal Association.

Suppose we analyze the prospects of the new political formations, assuming that they will actually figure in power plays. To make sure there is no bias involved, we will disregard the virtual party bloc of Messrs. Azarov, Pustovoitenko, Tyhypko, and Hladiy, because it exists only in the heads of its founding fathers. Naturally, the bulk of the electorate will never bother to read, let alone understand any liberal programs, and whatever sallies in that direction would be futile. The heaps of booklets supplied to Ukrainian offices by Horoshkovsky’s Agency of Humanitarian Technologies at one time was evidence enough. On the other hand, Viktor Pinchuk does have influence with a number of influential and popular media outlets, meaning there will be no problem making short ads, slogans, etc. Except the problem of potential carriers of the liberal idea, for these people are not among the consumers of such products. Even if all liberally-minded Ukrainians voted for the Pinchuk or Khoroshkovsky- Bohoslovska bloc, the turnout would not provide the required percentage.

One option left is lending the liberal brand a new meaning having very little to do with liberalism as such to package it for Ukraine’s great unwashed. Since most politically active Ukrainians are a mix of Left and Left Centrists, the liberal idea of domestic manufacture is undergoing appropriate mimicry, so the slogans of Our Force and NLA are almost identical to those of their current partners. Pinchuk’s initiatives are probably meant to allow him to play a major role in the electoral process. The more so that the title Our Force instantly reminds one of that of another bloc, also formed by the friendly ones. As for the rather light-headed NLA, the project in all likelihood is a starting bid which will be either supported, edited, and adjusted to the election campaign, or dumped.

Can Mr. Pinchuk’s friendly media turn the Liberals’ one percent of the votes into a figure more acceptable to such an ambitious politician in just half a year? Whatever the outcome, the architects of the new liberal blocs are taking no chances. Raising Labor Ukraine’s one percent will be much harder.

COMMENT

The Day contacted NLA leader Valery KHOROSHKOVSKY on October 3 and asked how his involvement in the project correlated with NDP leader Pustovoitenko’s plan to set up a broader Zlahoda-2 bloc. He replied, “If you will pardon my saying so, my participation in the new liberal movement and previous NDP membership have as much in common as the number of your grade school does with the name of the institution you are working for at present. These political organizations are associated only by my personal history. Actually, the new liberal movement was in a way provoked by the passive stand of the NDP, Zlahoda, and all the centrist parties in their public efforts.

The Day: Will the new liberal alliance be a part of some broader coalition? If so, which?

V. K.: It has nothing to do with Zlahoda, Tundra, or other centrist alliances. Moreover, our movement is a response to the passivity and sluggishness of the whole centrist camp. Before discussing external ties and objectives of the new liberal movement, it is necessary to understand its concept. It is simple enough. No one appreciated personal freedom and individual abilities in the Soviet Union. Ukraine hasn’t moved far away from the style and method of administration practiced in the USSR. Why should so many Ukrainian citizens support a Soviet restoration? Because they see that Ukraine remains Soviet in many respects, so turning back won’t be all that difficult. Yet there are many independent and active common members, people that need only personal freedom, just protection of their rights, and a just state. These people are of a new non-Soviet type. They are already reforming this country from below, starting businesses, establishing free media, defending their rights in court. The task of the new liberal movement is to support such reforms in parliament. I don’t agree with those political analysts and politicians who saying complaisantly that liberal ideas are not popular in this country. They imply that our compatriots do not appreciate private property and the right to human dignity, that they do not appreciate the idea of everybody being equal before the law, that they do not appreciate an honest and straightforward government and personal freedom. To say that Ukrainian citizens do not support liberal ideas is to say that these people enjoy going through all our humiliating red tape getting visas, being jobless, and living in misery in a country whose institutions are weak and corrupt. I can’t believe that people like all this. I think all those political analysts and politicians saying that liberalism is alien to the Ukraine people simply voice their own opinion under the guise of expertise.

The Day: Could the new liberal alliance be a political cover for the Ukrsotsbank, considering the accusations made about the bank owners?

V. K.: Ukrsotsbank is a stable, strong, and fair bank, it doesn’t need any political cover. Sorry, but I regard this question as an attempt to humiliate the strategic concept of the new liberal movement and the country’s reform course as a whole. Actually, this question stems from lack of confidence that Ukraine can become a member of the advanced civilized world. This question implies distrust of the possibility of reform, lack of self-confidence, and of confidence of the will of other people. Disillusionment is an enemy of a socially active individual, and this is especially true of politicians and journalists.

To comprehend our initiative when forming the new liberation movement, one must believe in oneself and revive one’s belief in Ukraine. Convince yourself that you personally need the freedom of expression, free enterprise, and respect by the authorities. There are so many young talented people around; they only need a good education. There so many energetic people who need a simple taxation system and no bureaucratic interference in the private sector. Ask yourself what you actually need, and then you will probably understand why there are people in your country setting new objectives and working out a liberal political project.