Summer is ending, and the start of a new political season is approaching. However, in a climate of constant political crisis, few can afford to remain inactive. Perhaps only those who take a deliberately detached stance.
There's been increasing talk of reforming the parliamentary coalition lately. This isn't surprising, as the declared constitutional majority hasn't demonstrated any remarkable effectiveness in its nearly nine months of existence. Quite the contrary: the parliamentarians who comprise the ruling majority have significantly disappointed their voters.
Amid the disarray and instability within the coalition, the position of the Samopomich faction stands out. This party project, contrary to its publicly stated goals, aims to maintain public interest in its author and initiator, Andriy Sadovyi, who, for the time being, prefers the post of Lviv mayor to direct involvement in solving the country's problems. Looking back over the past year of Samopomich, one can see many interesting developments that explain its zigzagging political stance.
The Samopomich movement steadily grew in popularity, winning nearly 11% of the vote in late autumn 2014 thanks to a campaign slogan titled "Get It Done." The party positioned itself as a middle-class party, and its faction does indeed include many businessmen. However, there are other prominent figures, including Anna Hopko, Samopomich's number one performer, whom the faction will attempt to remove from her position as head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Affairs for supporting constitutional amendments aimed at decentralization. Semyon Semenchenko, commander of the Donbass Battalion, is a character with a checkered past. Yegor Sobolev is a professional anti-corruption crusader who is being courted by hotheads for the post of Prosecutor General, ignoring the fact that Mr. Sobolev lacks a legal education. Samopomich emerged as a party of advancement in the elections, presenting voters with a vision of qualitative change flavored with Lviv coffee. It's a pity that the promises turned out to be difficult to fulfill.
It would seem that the coalition's third-largest faction could afford to act effectively. But Samopomich insists on its "training in parliamentarianism." Apparently for this reason—due to a lack of experience—Andriy Sadovyi declined the position of First Deputy Prime Minister in Yatsenyuk's government.
Meanwhile, the "Self-Reliance" faction is behaving curiously in parliament. Its leader, Oleh Berezyuk, declined to serve as coalition coordinator, citing a lack of experience. This is despite the fact that two-thirds of the current parliament are newcomers. Sadovyi's party does not support constitutional amendments aimed at decentralization; Deputy Speaker Oksana Syroid castigates the head of state for his desire to strengthen his own position. Self-Reliance supported the law on foreign currency loans, which reeks of populism. The faction ostracized Andriy Miroshnik, who was caught privately texting during a parliamentary session. He resigned from his parliamentary seat. However, Samopomich prefers not to mention another member of the party list, Vladislav Voskresensky, who never traded business for parliamentary work.
Autumn 2015 will be decisive for Samopomich. The party, which emphasizes mutual aid in local communities, needs to prove itself at the local level. Sadovyi has repeatedly emphasized that Samopomich cells will be involved in the battle for local council seats. He himself will have to defend his post as Lviv mayor, for which there are plenty of contenders. And his main opponents currently appear to be Poroshenko's allies, who suggest that Andriy Ivanovich may run in the upcoming presidential elections. Therefore, there is a high probability that they will try to force him to reveal his hand.
Phraza.ua
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