Anatoly Gritsenko
The list of “Civic Position” is very indicative in this regard. Anatoly GritsenkoSkimming the list of candidates nominated by the "real colonel," one doesn't notice any odious, painfully familiar names. Unfortunately, this is the only positive, because there's no one to look at on the "first no-go" list.
Yet, just recently, the "leaders" of the "Civic Position" movement included such well-known and, to put it mildly, controversial figures as Borys Bespaly, MP of the 3rd-5th convocations; Volodymyr Horbulin, the first Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine in the history of independent Ukraine; Serhiy Hrynevetsky, deputy head of the People's Party; Oleksandr Morozov, MP of the 4th convocation; Viktor Musiyaka, MP of the 2nd and 4th convocations; and others. Today, the group has become smaller. Which only raises the question of the sources of funding for the "steadfast tin soldier."
There are virtually no "recognizable" figures in the party, other than Anatoly Gritsenko himself. And he, by and large, is known to the "general public" primarily for his outrageous and pernicious habit of periodically instigating "intra-faction squabbles" and resigning from his parliamentary duties.
Quite amusing in this regard is the unique ability of this "real colonel," firstly, to notice the error of the party line only after he had entered parliament under its banner; and secondly, to maintain his parliamentary mandate despite his loud declarations of resignation. Yes, Gritsenko has never been able to "cease being a deputy." Whether a man who is incapable of even resigning from his position as a deputy can change anything in parliament is a rhetorical question.
On the other hand, Anatoly Stepanovich is always ready to shoulder the burden of responsibility and lead something. This trait certainly doesn't indicate ambition or, God forbid, narcissism, but rather the leadership qualities and heightened sense of duty of a man who was remembered by many employees of the regional headquarters of the United Opposition in 2012 as a VIP agitator with a penchant for luxury suites, expensive cognacs, and cigars.
Of course, all these minor flaws don't detract from Mr. Gritsenko's ability to say the right and necessary things. However, in this respect, he differs little from other demagogue-populist Ukrainian politicians who, like him, regularly appear on the same television channels.
Anatoly Gritsenko's "partners," the leaders of the Democratic Alliance, Vasyl Gatsko and Vitaly Shabunin, are worthy successors in the difficult task of "fighting oligarchs, corruption, and so on." Evil tongues say this was not without agreements with the "sponsors" of these "independent projects," which is the name given to entities close to Rinat Akhmetov. Nevertheless, the question of why Anatoly Stepanovich chose to collaborate with Demalians, and not with any other new political force "born of the revolution," can be put aside for now.
Meanwhile, all that remains is to acknowledge that the collaboration with Anatoly Gritsenko of Demalyans leaders, public activists, and independent journalists like Natalia Sokolenko, who previously could hardly be accused of bias or venality, creates an unpleasant feeling, akin to accidentally running into a close friend's daughter on the street.
The future will tell how mistaken the decision of the new leaders, "born of Euromaidan," public activists, and journalists to act as a booster rocket for launching political trash into orbit was. For now, one can only speculate that the absence of obvious evil does not necessarily mean the presence of any good. Therefore, regardless of the results of Anatoliy Hrytsenko's "Civic Position" in the upcoming parliamentary elections, one should not expect productive and effective work from political parasites.
Valentin Gladkikh, PhD in Philosophy and political analyst, specially for RBC-Ukraine
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