The mayor of Kyiv is leaving the president's team and will attempt to take over Yulia Tymoshenko's tariff niche.
The moratorium on increasing housing and utilities tariffs adopted by the Kyiv City Council on July 7 has already been dubbed by many experts as a communal riot in the capital.
Clearly, such a decision by local deputies will only increase chaos in the already complex issue of recalculating heating and hot water prices. But worst of all, this populist attack by Vitali Klitschko's team (Read more: Vitali Klitschko. The Dark Past of the "Looking Tomorrow" ) could lead to a protracted standoff between Kyiv and the central government. It's naive to believe that the capital's mayor could have launched his tariff war without the support of his influential patron, Serhiy Lyovochkin (Read more: Lyovochkin. The "Grey Cardinal" and His Sister ). Consequently, the former head of Viktor Yanukovych's presidential administration has decided to revive Klitschko's political brand and is beginning to prepare for possible early elections, DS writes.
As a reminder, new prices—double the previous ones—for hot water and heat were set on July 1 by the National Commission for the Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities (NERC). The commission, in turn, made this decision based on the relevant indicators of the state budget for the current year, which took into account the wishes of Ukraine's main financial donor, the IMF. Kyiv authorities had known about the impending price hike for some time, but had done nothing to improve the energy efficiency of the city they govern. The mayor of Kyiv decided to take the easiest path in this situation—populism.
Using his influence in the Association of Ukrainian Cities, where he serves as chairman, Vitali Klitschko secured the organization's approval of an appeal to the Verkhovna Rada and the government demanding the repeal of tariff increases. In doing so, the founder of UDAR hopes to create the impression that local authorities across the country oppose rising prices for heat and hot water, which is not the case. The Kyiv mayor's team then pushes Kyiv City Council members to adopt a moratorium on tariff increases, knowing full well that such a decision is legally null and void. After all, all local governments are obligated to comply with laws passed by parliament and government decisions.
Thus, the capital's moratorium is nothing more than a smokescreen that Vitali Klitschko hopes to use to cover up his own inaction.
But, apparently, this is just one maneuver in the former UDAR leader's overall strategy to end his cooperation with the Solidarity Bloc. Especially since the Kyiv mayor himself has already hinted at such an outcome. Specifically, at the end of May, the politician submitted his resignation as chairman of the presidential party, and in June, when asked whether he intended to withdraw UDAR from the Solidarity Bloc, he joked that he wouldn't comment on rumors, but "if sources say so, they know better."
It's clear that Vitali Klitschko himself would hardly dare to split a united party in which his team holds a significant position. Consequently, the signal to this effect was sent by his longtime patron, Serhiy Lyovochkin, whose influence in Ukraine remains quite considerable. One of the leaders of the Opposition Bloc needs a backup plan, and Vitali Klitschko's political brand is best suited to fulfill this mission.
It's no coincidence that the tariff issue was chosen to launch the UDAR project's revival. Firstly, this is the most pressing issue for the majority of the country's citizens today, so Klitschko's moratorium immediately makes it the political trend of the season. Secondly, this niche is currently occupied by Yulia Tymoshenko's party. Thus, by playing on the Batkivshchyna leader's turf, Lyovochkin hopes to slow down his long-time opponent's electoral momentum.
On the topic: Vitali Klitschko. The dark past of the "looking to tomorrow"
Levochkin. "The Gray Cardinal" and his sister
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, Facebook , Twitter , VK - Only new faces from the SKLEP section!