POLITICAL BLOC PROFILE: Volodymyr Lytvyn's People's Bloc

by Zenon Zawada
Kyiv Press Bureau

During the 2006 parliamentary election campaign, The Ukrainian Weekly will profile the leading political blocs. This week's installment features Volodymyr Lytvyn's People's Bloc.

KYIV - It's hard to pinpoint what exactly Verkhovna Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn stands for.

And when he does take a position on a political conflict, it's well after the dust has settled and declaring an opinion is safe.

It wasn't until well after November 22 in 2004, that Mr. Lytvyn revealed tacit support for the Orange Revolution by allowing the Verkhovna Rada to reject the second-round vote and then declare no confidence in the Kuchma government.

During the New Year's natural gas crisis, Mr. Lytvyn had no opinion on what Ukraine should do. Weeks after an agreement was inked, he denounced it as "either stupidity or treachery."

The man who has mastered the middle ground in Ukrainian politics, going with whichever tide happened to be rising at a particular moment, has managed to build an entire political bloc based on that very premise.

Lytvyn's People's Bloc is projected to qualify for the Verkhovna Rada, largely based on Mr. Lytvyn's image as a mediator between Ukraine's pro-Western and pro-Russian forces.

Mr. Lytvyn has demonstrated that taking no position on issues, or remaining in the shadows until a conflict has played itself out, can turn out to be a very effective political maneuver.

Party leaders

Lytvyn's People's Bloc is among the political blocs and parties that are constructed upon a single personality.

Appearing second on the bloc's voting list is Sofia Rotaru, Ukraine's pop music icon who was most popular during the 1970s. Mr. Lytvyn's campaign carefully selected Ms. Rotaru because she fits in very well with the bloc's massive, nationwide "My" advertising campaign.

"My" appeals to older Ukrainians' nostalgia for the good ol' days, without emphasizing the Soviet or Communist aspects.

The remaining three politicians on the "My" ballot are meant to make the bloc look respectable to voters, said Ivan Lozowy, president of the Kyiv-based Institute of Statehood and Democracy, which is exclusively financed by Ukrainian business donations.

It's the top five names on a bloc's electoral list that Ukrainians will see in their voting booths.

Cosmonaut Leonid Kadenyuk, who flew on a U.S. space shuttle mission, is third on the Lytvyn's People's Bloc list. The Ukrayinska Pravda website identified him also as a "former advisor to Leonid Kuchma."

National Academy of Sciences History Institute Director Valerii Smolii is fourth, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Vasyl Maliarenko is fifth. Mr. Maliarenko's selection is controversial because it's illegal for judges to engage in politics, Mr. Lozowy said.

Political strategy

The electoral list for Lytvyn's People's Bloc is a collection of wealthy businessmen, many of whom had ties to former President Leonid Kuchma or supported him outright. Mr. Lytvyn himself was Mr. Kuchma's right-hand man for six years, first as Presidential Administration chair and then as Verkhovna Rada chairman.

Few, if any, political positions are identifiable with the Lytvyn's People's Bloc.

Similarly to Mr. Kuchma, Mr. Lytvyn maintains close relations with the Russian Federation and supports pro-Russian policies, while simultaneously advocating Ukraine's accession to the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

In the Verkhovna Rada last year, Lytvyn's People's Bloc voted against measures that would enable Ukraine's membership into the World Trade Organization.

Mr. Lytvyn hasn't expressed support for granting the Russian language government status.

When asked by a Russian reporter whether he considered himself in the opposition to the Yekhanurov government, Mr. Lytvyn replied, "No. I'm working."

Campaign strategy

Mr. Lytvyn's campaign strategy is entirely built upon his carefully tailored image as the moderate, neutralizing factor in Ukrainian politics. One popular television ad shows a calm, resolute Mr. Lytvyn amidst a blurred image of national deputies battling each other.

Even the immense "My" campaign has no political message. The "My" billboards and magazine advertisements are simply photographs that show Ukrainians at their best, whether celebrating Christmas with their families, studying in a lecture hall or working in a textile factory.

Such images are intended to appeal to Ukrainians sense of nostalgia for their younger days when life was stable and simpler, said Ihor Balynskyi, editor-in-chief of the Zakhidna Informatsiyna Corp., an informational-analytical news agency based in Lviv.

"Lytvyn has declared himself the third force, trying to attract people who are nostalgic for Soviet stability who are disappointed with the new government," Mr. Balynskyi said. "He is showing that he wants to develop Ukraine without any radical changes."

Mr. Lytvyn's bloc has poured $4.6 million into the "My" advertising campaign between November 26, 2005, and February 17, according to Freedom of Choice, a coalition of Ukrainian civic groups.

The investment appears to have paid off.

Polls demonstrate Lytvyn's People's Bloc will qualify for the Verkhovna Rada with between 4 and 6 percent of the vote.

According to the National Institute for Strategic Research, a government agency that performs work for the President and his Secretariat, the Lytvyn's People's Bloc has 5 percent support among the electorate.

The Western-financed Democratic Initiatives Foundation estimated support for the Lytvyn's People's Bloc at 4 percent.

"Lytvyn's ads are exceptionally expertly done," Mr. Balynskyi said. "He has surprisingly climbed the election field."

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 12, 2006, No. 11, Vol. LXXIV

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