Reloading of the Kyiv city council did not happen

Photo: InterMedia consulting

Author: Sergei Komissarov

The Early elections of the Kyiv city Mayor are already in the past. The initiators of the election marathon are in knockout. Their psychological condition is near to hysteria. The result did not meet the expectations...

The King is alive. He is well and looks at his political opponents: "Did you want to crack me? You can whistle for it! Now I will make it hot for you..."

The majority of the pensioners has a gloat, having taken from the post boxes belated leaflets of Yulia Tymoshenko: "You, orange fox, serve for right! You reap what you sow! You should not act against our provider Leonid Chernovetskyi!.."

The youth remembers these elections without much nostalgia. "We made easy money - and are happy with it...Lets wait and prepare for the presidential elections. The tariff for the arrangement of support groups of this or that candidate might be increased..."

The journalists, politicians and political scientist are concerned about the results of the elections most of all. There are some statements of the famous people in Kyiv who express the concentrate opinion of the capital intelligence about the consequences of the second term of Leonid Chernovetskyi.

Viktor Tsyhanov, a candidate of the philosophical science, a moderator of the Political club:

- I think that the times of the humiliated and offended did not pass. After the elections I have such feeling of loathing of what I witnessed. Those who were nobody, remained nobody. And even became worse. We have observed a ruin of  the democratic myth. The majority of the population does not have any possibility to influence the events not only in the country but in their native city, district and house.

We still remain one-time electors and still do not have any influence on the events. We can say that a syndrome of lost human dignity in Kyiv is getting strengthened.

A dictatorship of ignorance, a dictatorship of aggression instead of a dictatorship of proletariat is flourishing in Kyiv. What is better? I cant find an answer...

Serhiy Datsyuk, independent political expert:

- Now we have such situation when there is no active protest from the Kyiv residents towards the power. The people will not  hold meetings, demonstrations, they will not rebel against the petty tyranny of power.

There were no basic motives at the elections. Mostly pensioners came to vote. They have two basic motives: to get social payments (from the central power as well as from the city power) and that their main asset -flat -to be increased in price. The motive of the pensioners are being satisfied the most. Therefore they come and vote for this particular power.

Why did not the middle class come to vote?

The motives of the middle class were less than the motives of the pensioners. It is a development of business. The people wanted to hear what will happen with land, capital infrastructure, business? But they did not get answer from any political force, therefore they did not come to vote.

Oleksandr Halaka, ex-candidate for the position of the Kyiv city Mayor, ex head of the main department of the intelligence service of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine:

- The power in Ukraine (including in Kyiv) belongs to the people. It is in the hands of thousands people who take decisions. They are the representatives of the financial-oligarch groups, close to the President.

The second factor which influenced the elections result is a great apathy of the people. After events in 2004 nobody believes anybody. A peak of the political activity has already gone. It will take more than a year to put this peak at the high level.

Ukraine is a totally corrupted country. It is senseless to speak about a fair struggle for the position of the Kyiv city Mayor. In case we do not overcome corruption, we will cause a backflash.

Viktor Baloha became a successful spin doctor at these elections. He got such power in Kyiv which will satisfy him most of all.

Dmytro Korchynskyi, a secretary general of the political party "Bratstvo":

- The most technological figure - Leonid Chernovetskyi won these elections in Kyiv. His political and not only election and propaganda campaign was made the most reasonably. In contrast to those who laughed at him.

We used to speak: "Look, he cant express his thoughts... It turned to be not important. Chernovetskyi has an animal instinct and he managed to get a victory over all his opponents.

Now the Ukrainian political field has a gap on that place where OU-PSD was and where now the BYuT is fading and where there was a splinter of Party of Regions.

Valeriy Kukhar, a director of the Institute of organic chemistry and petrochemistry:

- When the election campaign started the result of the elections was known. There were many parties and political leaders. All they pursued their own interests. We will not have a unity in the country if there are more than two-three political forces, struggling for the power in Kyiv, in particular, and in Ukraine in general. Today everyone wants to be a leader. This is our main disease. It takes two generations in order we have a real democratic capital.

Roman Shpek, ex-chairman of the Permanent representative office of Ukraine at the EU:

- I had been living and working abroad for eight years. Now I returned to Kyiv. 100 days passed after that I was shocked when saw the conditions, people are living now. I saw the trolleybus, which had only two clean windows (the front ones). The other were dirty...

Remember Gorkiy who said that a word "man" sounds proudly. Can our citizens feel themselves proudly in such trolleybus? If we come in this trolleybus and do not protest, it is obvious that we will vote for such candidate which we are offered.

Taras Berezovets, a director of the PR-group "Politech":

-  In fact the Kyiv elections mean the end of the great political projects. Treasure of the supporters of Viktor Yushchenko is being divided now by their former political opponents. The CPU's things also look bad: the CPU as well as the OU-PSD did not get to the Kyiv council.

3% of the rating of the Party of Regions is not a personal rating of its leaders but a response of the Kyiv residents how they treat the values of the Regionals and how this political force has a real chance to have political significance in the Kyiv power.

The BYuT has repeated its result in 2006, having got more than 23% of votes at these elections. It gives reasons to speak that for the BYuT Stalingrad did not take place. At the same time Viktor Yushchenko got his Stalingrad, because that rating got by Omelchenko bloc, Katerynchuk bloc and OU-PSD together is a reflection of the relation of the Kyiv residents to the President. But in its time the very capital by 80% of the votes made Yushchenko the President and provided "Orange Maydan" three years ago.

Viktor Yushchenko, having supported Chernovetskyi at the elections, let the gin out of the bottle.

Next elections will see Leonid Chernovetskyi as one of the candidates for the role of the president. In contrast to 2004 he will not be a technical candidate.

I will not be surprised if at the coming presidential election the main opponent of Yulia Tymoshenko will become Leonid Chernovetskyi.