Candidates, blocs target Ukraine's voters as parliamentary campaign is in full swing (01/22/06)

Candidates, blocs target Ukraine's voters as parliamentary campaign is in full swing

by Zenon Zawada
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - The 2006 parliamentary campaign is already beginning to resemble the recent presidential campaign.

Once again, Viktor Yanukovych's image is blanketing Ukrainian television as political parties have been targeting voters with advertisements aimed at swinging them their way on March 26.

The Party of Regions has been the most aggressive on Ukrainian television, launching an intense campaign in the week leading up to New Year's Day just as the natural gas crisis was reaching its boiling point.

Many Ukrainians consider New Year's Eve their most important holiday, placing it even higher on their priority list than Christmas.

"The most technically versed ads are those featuring Mr. Yanukovych," said Ihor Balynskyi, the editor-in-chief of Zakhidna Informatsiyna Corp., an information-analytical news agency based in Lviv. "They demonstrate a dazzling leader, someone who is strong and tough."

As President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov struggled with their Russian counterparts, a calm and confident Viktor Yanukovych, seated next to a Christmas tree with his hands neatly folded, greeted Ukrainians with a New Year's message:

"My dear countrymen! We lived through yet another year - a complicated and difficult one. But it also had its joys. We understood a lot after this year and experienced a lot. And what consoles us is that through the good and the unpleasantness, we were together."

"We leaned on each other's shoulders, and we were united in the belief that together we can make life better and we would be able to return our country to welfare and prosperity."

"Today, we thank God for this and we remember the past year as a good year. And with surety and joy let's turn to the new year. May it bring everyone happiness, may it be calm and good, may it bring warmth and wealth, and health for every family."

"Let's be happy in the new year and, as our people say, 'God help us to celebrate this holiday and meet the next one. Year after year, for many blessed years.' "

The ad was geared to give Mr. Yanukovych a presidential appearance, said Yulia Tyshenko, the council chair of the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research. "It's trying to present their candidate as a president, because enough votes were given to him during the elections," she said.

Presenting him in this way "satisfies the expectations of those who voted for the Party of the Regions," Ms. Tyshenko said.

However, Mr. Yanukovych's New Year's ad also has the potential to backfire on him, said Natalia Lihachova, the editor-in-chief of Telekrytyka, a Kyiv-based magazine and website that reports and analyzes mass media.

"When a man with a criminal past wishes the viewer 'Merry Christmas' with an insignificant smile, someone who isn't a great 'Did Moroz,' then this becomes an anti-advertisement," Ms. Lihachova said. "This can really hurt him. Ads should be geared to those who are weighing their decision."

Party of the Regions ads

In the weeks following New Year's Day, the Party of the Regions television ad campaign has been relentless. Most of Ukraine's major television channels have played their latest political ads several times a night on a daily basis.

Their most recent ads are snapshots from a political rally where Party of the Regions leaders appear on stage, waving and embracing each other in front of large, roaring crowds.

One features snapshots of five Party of Regions leaders giving dramatic speeches in front of cheering crowds.

Former Kharkiv Oblast Council Chair Yevhen Kushnariov, who was arrested last year for embezzling large sums of money from the government, is featured first in the advertisement. Mr. Kushnariov late last year dissolved his New Democracy Party to join the Party of the Regions, earning the 11th slot on its electoral list.

"We are a force! We are united! We are confident in tomorrow!" declares the Russian-speaking politician, whom many Ukrainians remember calling for eastern Ukraine's secession during the Orange Revolution.

Following Mr. Kushnariov is Taras Chornovil, the infamous turncoat who abandoned the pro-Western forces led by his father, dissident Vyacheslav Chornovil, who is widely believed to have been killed in a staged car accident.

"We are a real team - the team of victors!," declares Taras Chornovil, who served as campaign manager during Mr. Yanukovych's 2004 presidential run.

Next in the ad is Donetsk billionaire Rynat Akhmetov, who declares in Russian, "We should build a strong economy and create new jobs."

"... So that together with you we will unite Ukraine into a single, unified Ukraine!" chimes in Nina Karpachova, the Verkhovna Rada's ombudsman for human rights who stunned many when the Party of the Regions announced in December that she was ranked second on its electoral list, just behind Mr. Yanukovych.

Finally, the party chief appears in the ad declaring in Russian, "Together we will win for all of Ukraine!"

Though odious in most regions of Ukraine, these leaders enjoy strong support in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv oblasts, media experts said.

"Akhmetov has reached mythical status in Donetsk," Mr. Balynskyi said.

The ad, therefore, is not meant to draw new voters to the Party of the Regions, but to reinforce its base in eastern Ukraine and encourage the people to come out and vote, media experts said.

"This clip demonstrates that their campaign team is influential, united and powerful," Mr. Balynskyi said.

Another Party of Regions ad currently on Ukrainian television seeks to capitalize on the shortcomings of the Yushchenko presidency.

"You remember how it was," declares an ominous-sounding voice. "They promised you a better life. Think about what's happened in the past year: prices have risen, pensions are miserly, heating got more expensive. Soon the future of Ukraine will depend on you."

"The Party of the Regions and Viktor Yanukovych are going into the elections to defend your interests - to renew stability, increase pensions, create new jobs and to ensure decent wages."

Then came the Party of Regions 2006 slogan: "The Party of Regions - A Better Life Right Now!"

At the end, the five Party of Regions leaders are shown standing together, arm in arm, on a stage in front of a cheering crowd.

Such an ad is specifically targeted at those disappointed in the Orange Revolution, Ms. Tyshenko said. And it may be effective, she added.

Giving the Russian language official status in Ukraine is a main theme of a third Party of the Regions advertisement, making it apparent the party wants to exploit this issue to the fullest.

"The Party of the Regions will lead the country in making the Russian language the second official language of Ukraine," Mr. Yanukovych declares on a stage in front of a sea of supporters. "We are ready to fight for lower taxes."

Then he makes a statement that will likely offend most Orange Revolution participants, if only the commercial made it more than barely audible above the background music.

"It's time to put an end to stealing and incompetence," Mr. Yanukovych says in Russian, then repeats the Party of Regions slogan. "Together we will win for all of Ukraine."

Media experts are divided on whether or not such ads will be effective.

"That ad might work against him," Ms. Lihachova said. "It's mainly for people who sympathize with their bloc."

The Party of Regions is trying to convince voters it offers a better vision than their opponents, Mr. Balynskyi said.

"You can say Yanukovych is speaking to the idea of revenge and to his version of Ukraine's development," he said. "He is telling the voter that he will change everything from the way the government is currently doing it."

Our Ukraine campaign

Only Our Ukraine has mounted a television ad campaign that even approaches the massive presence the Party of the Regions has.

During the New Year's holiday, the Our Ukraine ads bore the slogan "Always return home!" - an apparent reference to those voters who might have drifted from Our Ukraine in supporting other Orange parties.

Our Ukraine's current advertisement features no personalities or politicians, just large text excerpts which appear on the screen that echo a stern voice that states:

"Think Ukrainian. Think about Ukraine. Take care of Ukraine. This is your land, your responsibility, your mission. Think Ukrainian. Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine."

Compared to the more active, dynamic Party of the Regions ads, such ads seem passive, a trait of Mr. Yushchenko himself, Ms. Lihachova said.

"People see him as a beekeeper who doesn't have the charisma of a politician committed to struggle," she said. "That kind of ad gives that kind of impression - someone not ready for an active struggle."

In a similar Our Ukraine ad, a stern voice says, "Think in Ukrainian. You are descendants of the great Princess Olha, Volodymyr the Great and Yaroslav the Wise. History demands that you believe in yourself and in Ukraine. Think Ukrainian. Viktor Yushchenko. President of Ukraine."

Such ads are not effective because they are too patriarchal and excessively patriotic, Mr. Balynskyi said.

"They don't take into account the uniqueness of Ukrainian cities, particularly in the industrial regions of southern and eastern Ukraine," he said. "But I don't exclude that this is done especially to save and bring together the Orange electorate, which is based in central and western Ukraine."

Tymoshenko opts for personal visits

The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc has yet to launch any television ads. Instead, the charismatic leader relies more on live campaign visits, Mr. Balynskyi said.

In just the past week, she visited the western oblasts of Lviv, Chernivtsi and Khmelnytskyi to perform damage control on her image after her political bloc voted to dismiss Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov and his Cabinet of Ministers.

"Yanukovych and Lytvyn are weak orators and aren't capable of captivating large audiences," Mr. Balynskyi said. "Tymoshenko can turn an audience of 15,000 people in her favor. I have seen with my own eyes how she turned people who were against her to her side after delivering a speech."

Lytvyn's "We" approach

More than any other party, Volodymyr Lytvyn's People's Bloc has dominated billboards and outdoor advertising spaces with its "My" ("We" in English) campaign.

Featuring no text other than the word "My," the ads feature ordinary Ukrainians at work or at play.

During the holidays, "My" billboards and posters showed a typical Ukrainian family cheerfully gathered around a dinner table toasting with glasses in their hands, or dressed in humorous, festive holiday costumes.

Other "My" posters employ old Soviet photographs of Ukrainians at work on a farm or in a factory.

While the Party of Regions ads are aimed at reinforcing their support, the "My" campaign is aimed at attracting as many voters as possible to Lytvyn's People's Bloc, Mr. Balynskyi said.

"Everyone clearly understands that his ads are a mixture of Soviet nostalgia with the idea that with Lytvyn you have stability," he said. "Nostalgia for Soviet times is nostalgia for stability."

The single television ad from Lytvyn's People's Bloc is certainly among the most creative, media experts said. It's a cartoon of a tug-of-war battle between muscular men wearing orange on one side, pulling against another group of athletic men wearing blue. As they both tug on the rope with all their strength, it begins to tear in the middle.

Just as it rips and both sides are about to fall on their backsides, a handsome, confident Lytvyn steps up to the center, grabs both ends and ties them back together. "An attempt at understanding - Lytvyn's People's Bloc," a voice states.

Such an ad attempts to establish Lytvyn as a moderate, third choice in Ukrainian politics that will seek the middle road in Ukrainian politics, experts said.

"Lytvyn is showing he wants to develop Ukraine without any radical changes," Mr. Balynskyi said. "His ads are exceptionally and expertly done. He has surprisingly climbed the election field."

Communists invoke Picasso

Although typically averse to television ads, the Communist Party has launched at least one during the 2006 campaign.

It's rather unique, emphasizing the historical fact that abstract artist Pablo Picasso was once a devoted Communist. The ad features a voice quoting Picasso:

"Through painting and color, I want to advance my understanding of people and this world in the direction that this understanding makes us freer. My membership in the Communist Party is the logical extension of all my life and all my work. Geniuses think alike. Communist Party of Ukraine."

Other political parties and blocs that are unlikely to break the 3 percent barrier also have launched television ads, including the Christian-Democratic Party.

Leonid Kravchuk's "Not So"

Former President Leonid Kravchuk of the Ne Tak! Bloc also makes an appearance on a television ad. Seated in an armchair, he is shown watching television. Mr. Yushchenko's voice is heard giving a speech during the Orange Revolution, and the crowd is chanting "Yush-chen-ko! Yush-chen-ko!"

Then Mr. Kravchuk grins into the camera: "He said, 'He knows, he believes.' They promised they could. Life showed that they couldn't do anything. Enough of tormenting people!" Then the Ne Tak! Logo appears on the screen.

The Ne Tak! (Not So) Bloc is largely composed of the Social Democratic Party - United (SDPU), a group that promotes the interests of a business clan led by Viktor Medvedchuk and Dynamo Kyiv owner Hryhorii Surkis.

Political advertising is moving in a new, positive direction, a trend noticed by media experts. So far this year, aside from the Ne Tak! ad featuring Mr. Kravchuk, there haven't been any attack ads, or what's commonly referred to in Ukraine as "black public relations."

There also haven't been any attempts, thus far, to manipulate voters, exploit the east-west divide or play on people's fears, experts said.

One of the Party of the Regions hired guns in the 2004 campaign, television personality Vyacheslav Pikhovshek, joked this year that there won't be any attack ads such as "Yekhanurov - The Buryat," referring to the attacks on American-born Kateryna Yushchenko. Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov is an ethnic Buryat from Russia.

"Political parties and blocs are working much more professionally than earlier," Mr. Balynskyi said. "It's obvious that some negative ads against Yushchenko in the last campaign had the opposite effect. They helped Yushchenko. These parties and blocs are using ads to try to carry ideas to the voters."

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