The Party of Regions' decision to withdraw from the elections surprised many. Just last Friday, the online community was actively discussing the reunification of the fragments of the Party of Regions into the Opposition Bloc, but by Sunday morning, it became clear that the "regions" had chosen political oblivion, calling it an "opposition government." They intend to create this government during their time off from the election campaign.
The latest poll from GFK shows that, individually, neither the Party of Regions nor Serhiy Lyovochkin's Party of Development of Ukraine, which actively promoted itself in the southeastern territories liberated by Ukrainian security forces, are likely to enter parliament. Among the conventional opposition parties, only Tihipko's "Strong Ukraine" party is feeling relatively secure: according to the poll, the party is polling at 6%. Considering that the campaign is just beginning, Tihipko's party could increase its support with a recognizable leader, provided there are no critical errors in campaign design and the creation of a sound party program. Given this, rumors that Tihipko was slated to lead the failed Opposition Bloc of the Party of Regions, the Party of Ukraine, and "Strong Ukraine" seem less far-fetched.
Photo: polittech.org
Too different
Experts cite several reasons why the merger failed. First, Yanukovych's former allies lacked confidence in holding elections in Donbas and, consequently, no guarantee that they would secure enough seats in the new parliament to influence the process. Second, Tihipko's refusal to, in effect, reenter the same river known as the Party of Regions. At his party's congress on Friday, he publicly announced that he would not merge with anyone, and his ally, Svitlana Fabrikant, even spoke of the "colossal pressure from other political forces" exerted on her intractable party boss and of Tihipko's allegedly blocked access to national television channels.
Photo: Vladimir Shuvaev
"This situation has shown that Tihipko has no intention of repeating the mistakes of several years ago and does not want to discredit himself by collaborating with the Party of Regions. He sees himself as an independent political force," comments Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta Center for Applied Political Research.
It doesn't matter whether this situation was driven by Tihipko's reluctance to be exploited by the Party of Regions or his sober calculation that by refusing to cooperate with his former colleagues, he would remain effectively the only player in the electoral field in the South and East who have parliamentary prospects. The Party of Regions, in all its failed incarnations, will not be represented in this parliament, and Tihipko could lay claim to being the man who sent the Party of Regions into political oblivion.
Feel the moment
Unlike in 2012, when his party merged with the Party of Regions, Tihipko now demonstrated political acumen and, anticipating the imminent collapse of his former colleagues, managed to quickly rebuild the Strong Ukraine party structures at the local level. The presidential election results also strengthened his confidence. As a reminder, he outscored Dobkin, who ran with the support of the Party of Regions.
The head of the International Center for Political Studies, Vasyl Filipchuk, is confident that "the Party of Regions has made a heavy contribution to the history of Ukraine." "I don't see any long-term future for them. They will bear moral responsibility for a long time to come," the expert believes. He believes the Party of Regions paid the price for failing to get rid of odious individuals, failing to keep their noses in the game, and shouting about the "junta and punitive forces" to the bitter end, while people wanted to hear about how to restore the collapsed economy and social standards. Yanukovych's former allies also failed, or refused, to address the party's sore points, unlike, for example, Lyashko, who used populism to inflate his party's rating to a staggering 12-13%. The Party of Regions also failed to capitalize on their traditional ploy of "political managers," failing to emphasize economic recovery, an area the current government has so far failed to address. Tigipko intends to exploit this theme: it is no coincidence that his party's list consists primarily of economists, industrialists, and businessmen, who, as he assures, are "capable of actually carrying out reforms."
Photo source: lenta.lviv.ua
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