Original article in Ukrainian by Kostyantyn Matviyenko, for UP
Translated by Anna Ivanchenko
Verka Serduchka is going to the parliamentary election! We can greet Ukrainian politicians with the revival of their not-so-boring lifestyle.
The decision of “people’s conductor” to head an election bloc named after herself regardless of its initiator and technological goal can ruin the game for the leading players of Ukrainian political arena. The reason is that the project has some real chances to obtain its electoral percentage.
Is Mrs. – sorry, Miss Vera worse as a public politician than the entire first and second row of party and bloc leaders planning to participate in September election?
Let us name them in an approximate order of today’s rating growth: Mr. Moroz, Mrs. Vitrenko, Mr. Lytvyn, Mr. Symonenko, Mr. Lutsenko, Mrs. Tymoshenko, Mr. Yanukovych.
Vera can elegantly dump every one of them into dirt with popular frankness. If the initiators of creating Verka Serduchka Bloc (abbreviated VSB) will move their idea to the stage of active election campaign then we’ll observe in fascination how “respectable politicians” run away in a hurry from a 3rd class carriage conductor not to get into one TV program with her.
Only Paraskoviya Korolyuk – legend of Orange revolution, Maydan keepsake and a dame awarded the medal of Saint Princess Olga – could talk down the runner-up of Eurovision 2007 but who will “allow her into TV”?
Ukrainian political class has enacted a farce for such a long time imitating “reconstruction of state” and the fight for fair destiny for “little Ukrainian: that its common political adversary simply had to be embodied by a professional comedian. He’ll be much more professional at this matter, and amateurs should leave the stage!
Andriy Danylko started a win-win game for himself. The apogee of the success of Verka Serduchka commercial image would have been the victory at the Eurovision. It didn’t turn out that way. Therefore, new informational reasons for rotation are needed.
The election in such a politicized society is simply an ideal chance. Verka’s disposition is perfectly suitable for running an election campaign. Naturally, the subjects of election process are going to put forward an issue of legitimacy of holding a campaign on behalf of the non-existing citizen but it is not a significant obstacle in technical and legal aspects. Instead, it is a perfect possibility to write new songs and monologues!
By the way, Serduchka will be the only leader of the lists who cannot be accused of corruption.
Even if Verka’s bloc does not pass the three-percent barrier her participation in the election is beneficial for the Party of regions because this party will obtain the biggest number of bonus seats in the parliament at the expense of the parties who lose the campaign.
Besides, the voters who traditionally support the PR are predominantly conservative and are not disposed towards scandalous behavior and jokes at the poll stations, therefore the absolute majority will not give their preferences to another bloc. The same can be said about CPU supporters.
But you cannot be so sure about the disappointed but dynamic, all-sufficient and independent in their decision-making voters who support Our Ukraine & People’s Self-Defense and BYuT. They are very likely to take revenge on the corrupted Maydan betrayers in their voting bulletins.
The information from lobby interviews states that Serduchka MP project is rotated to provide parliament membership to the entourage of Leonid Chernovetsky and to the entrepreneurs from the Green party. It can be just a way to put pressure on the powerful political groups – that is, include our people in your list or we are going to ruin your electoral plans. It would be similar to the actions of Mr. Zhvaniya and Mr. Lutsenko concerning Our Ukraine. In case of real participation and victory in election VSB will create a ruling coalition with the Party of regions and communists.
Such election has absolutely no sense for Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko. The participation of Verka Serduchka dramatically reduces their chances to form the Cabinet of Ministers.
Besides, Viktor Yanukovych also does not have a 100 per cent chance to remain a government head after such election. And the Verkhovna Rada of the fifth gathering guarantees this post for him.
All these factors together can lead to the prolongation of authority for the dissolved parliament. The CEC will just have to register the next candidates in the list of Our Ukraine bloc after those who have already abdicated.
An additional bonus will be an opportunity for the President to get rid of the odious persons in his entourage.
For the first time in the history of Ukrainian election campaigns an election bloc which has not been created yet gets a green light in any combination of forces before the official start of the campaign.
