Does Anybody Want Stars to Fade Away?
Usually a great stickler for punctuality, Petro Symonenko was almost 25 minutes late for a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency because of gridlock outside the Verkhovna Rada. At last, striding into the room, the Communist leader had every right attribute his lateness to the schemes of “criminal oligarchic clans,” who had clogged the streets of downtown Kyiv with their limousines to such an extent that the car of Ukraine’s chief communist failed to deliver him in time for a chat with the media. Instead, Mr. Symonenko made his excuses and got down to business straight away.
“The decision we made at the Central Committee plenary meeting (to support neither of the candidates in the presidential runoff — Author ) reflects current sentiments in society. The new century has practically answered the question of how Ukraine is going to combat the criminal and corrupt government, which is a true threat to our independence and sovereignty,” said the KPU leader said, looking intently at the assembled journalists. The Communist leader went on to say that capitalists were out to complete the process of grabbing power at the topmost level of the government.
Asked if the Communist Party would nevertheless give its electorate a last-minute nod, i.e., a hint about how to vote, the KPU leader said, “We are not going to blink or wink at anyone, we will be looking honestly into the eyes of our voters.” (But if the countless portraits of Lenin are anything to go by, he could blink very nicely and never considered it a bad thing).
He spoke in a somewhat embarrassed fashion and between the lines, though, about bargaining with the government. Mr. Symonenko did not rule out the possibility of the Communist Party taking part in the formation of the new president’s cabinet, but “long-term cooperation” will only be possible if there is “at least a grain of similarity in our programs.” “Speaking of cadres, I will say again that the KPU has sufficient human resources today. I assure you that today we are able to form even two or three governments. Our highly skilled professionals are now working in more than one field,” the KPU leader added, just in case; a catchy remark.
Mr. Symonenko made it clear that he was not at all ashamed of his performance in the first round of the current elections. (Preliminary results show that the Communist leader came fourth, with 5.03% of the vote, as compared to 22% in the first round and 37% in the runoff in the 1999 presidential elections).
By his logic, this low ranking may be blamed on anyone-the government, the media, etc. — but Mr. Symonenko himself and his fellow party men.
Symonenko also reproached our newspaper. Asked by The Day whether the votes he polled would affect the KPU’s position in the next parliamentary elections in general and the situation inside his party in particular, the Communist leader smilingly assured the audience that the political situation inside the party is healthy, ample proof of which is the recent CC plenary meeting. “We held a very principled and frank discussion of what we achieved during this election campaign and what we really lost. So, there are no problems in the party and never will be any. I am telling you this for the long term: do not waste your energy and intellect on trying to cook things up. No matter how much the newspaper The Day writes about conflicts in our party, there are in fact none. I do see your point: these 5% allegedly illustrate the public’s attitude to our party. But the true figure is entirely different — we were robbed of 15%. We will work to defend our result.” As for the 2006 elections, Mr. Symonenko says the KPU intends to take an active and “far more vigorous” part in them. Yet, no matter how hard Mr. Symonenko tries to save face, the situation is clear: his personal result (about 5%) reduces his party’s authority (20% in the 2002 parliamentary elections).
After the press conference it was learned that Gennady Ziuganov, leader of the Russian Communist Party and its parliamentary faction, advised the Ukrainian Communists “to enter into a dialog with the presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych over the possibility of supporting him in the election runoff.” According to Mr. Ziuganov, Mr. Yanukovych confirmed in his election program his readiness to adhere to certain basic values also shared by Ukraine’s Communists, such as “strengthening fraternal links with other post-Soviet states, announcing Russian the second official language, an anti-NATO program, a number of social programs aimed at improving the lives of the elderly, women, and children, as well as streamlining the staff-placement policy in the country.” A very symbolic statement of the Russian defender of “the elderly, women, and children,” isn’t it? Especially if you recall that at one time the government trounced Ziuganov in the elections and only the Kremlin’s support saved him from sinking into political oblivion when the Russian Communist Party split.
