Question of <I>The Day</I>

Viktoriya PODHORNA, political scientist:

What we are witnessing at the decisive stage of the 2002 election campaign is a natural process, considering a very high level of political fragmentation characteristic of Ukraine — a country with over a hundred political parties. The election will naturally bring out leaders who will occupy their ideological and electoral niches. There will be far fewer of them, because after 2002 we should expect a party reform — our parties will have to undergo a certain inventory, the elections being its principal phase.

On the whole, the political parties of the postcommunist states are characterized by a number of distinct features. As a result, we can watch a competition of leaders rather than ideologies. Such parties differ in charismatic personalities — only their leaders actually compete, while the other members play no significant role in public politics. We see such people proclaim themselves advocates of some ideology, which does not always fit the real contents and interests they express. I think it is one of the crucial problems of many parties and their leaders. If they don’t gradually correlate their contents, interests, and brand names, I mean their belonging to some definite ideology, very soon they will have big problems winning voter support.

We are also seeing a so-called top-down version of forming a party system such that representatives of the political elite compete among themselves, ignoring the real needs of the voters.

Oleksandr DERHACHOV, political scientist:

I might exaggerate a little, but I will try to substantiate the fact that we don’t have normal Centrists in this country. What is believed to be in the Center is a group of ideologically artificial formations that are aimed at preserving power or at getting it. They choose for themselves some ideology only because “they are supposed to.” Of course, it is advantageous for them to have some compromise ideology that leaves room for maneuver. Hence, their preference for Centrism. But if we read their programs, we can see a complete gentleman’s set for all occasions, sort of a leveled out pro-state position.

Before elections every political force identifies its main rivals. In this sense, the main opponent to both the Right and Left ideologies is the regime as such. And the authority is in the hands of the Centrists. We also witness competition among the countless Centrists who are trying to teach the voters to recognize them.

We could take the political and election competition in developed democracies as a model and see where we are similar to them and where we are different. In terms of formal signs, we have come very close to Europe, but the essence of our processes is entirely different. It is not law that works but a sense of the limits within which you can act, your relations with the authorities that interpret and apply laws so freely. In this country victory is won by those who can better weaken their rivals, not by those who offer a better strategy based on public interests.

Oleh MEDVEDIEV, political technologist:

I wouldn’t say there is no competition of ideologies. There is simply a competition within each ideological niche — competition among specific individuals for the right to profess this or that idea. The one who appears to people easier to reach and understand will win. There has to be a match: the voter has to believe that this is a person who carries this ideology.

In fact, competition is not just normal — it’s a good thing. The more competition in all spheres, the better for the society. Only competition determines the strongest. Now we can see eight or nine parties with clear positions as the leaders in the race. This group is very unlikely to be joined by anyone else.

Volodymyr MALYNKOVYCH, Director of the Ukrainian Branch of the International Institute of Humanities and Political Research:

Ideology is practically nowhere to be seen today — neither on the Right nor Left. In this country, what one can really talk about is not the presence of truly European parties that uphold the interests of certain strata of population, but the presence of groups and clans that are after power at any cost. That’s why we can see alignments of the Left and the extreme Right at demonstrations; they play around with a third force that doesn’t have any ideology at all, but has money... We could say that the Communists still have something like an ideology, but that party has no future, because it doesn’t work for its own renewal. In the West, such parties redesign their positions attuning them to new times. Nothing like that is to be seen with our Right, either, because our nationalists still stick to mottoes of ten to fifteen years old and thus lose public support.

I am convinced that there must be two centers — a Left and Right one. Speaking about the Right center, I don’t mean Viktor Yushchenko, because he doesn’t have a serious ideology, and the ideology of his supporters is the ideology of outdated ethnic nationalism. Nor do I mean the liberals, because capitalism is very poorly developed in this country and very few people tie their future to liberal ideas. Parties like Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives can’t have any serious support in this country, either. What I mean by the Left Center is the Social Democratic and Social Liberal ideologies. There is the SDPU(o) [Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (United)] which really can become a European-type Left-Centrist party.

Zinovy KULYK, political scientist:

The infantile character of our national elite in general and the political one in particular lies in a desire to bring to power a so-called strong arm that would put the country in order and give back to certain leaders the places they deserve but are losing now. That’s why the followers of these main ideological lines split into separate parties and blocs, vying for the settled electorate and for satisfying their own political selves. What we see is several parties on the Left, a scattered Center and a few contestants for the Right electorate.

This means there will be very little competition among programs, new ideas, or new proposals for solving the most pressing problems. It’s not parties and blocs that will compete, but contenders for the brand of a strong charismatic leader. That’s why all the campaign activities and everything that goes with them are aimed not at formulating new ideas, but at playing up the personal qualities of the leaders of political parties and blocs. The recent casting of leaders held at pre-election congresses of parties has shown that the forthcoming elections will be very much like beauty contests for Miss Ukraine, Miss Europe, or Miss World. It is not programs, ideas, or even their authors that are pounding the podium, but mythologized leaders among whom the voters are supposed to choose the strong arm advertised by our infantile political elite.