Poroshenko is tired of ads of Yatsenyuk on national television

Photo: Konstantin Melnitskiy

President Petro Poroshenko instructed his party to prepare a draft of a coalition agreement to form a new government as quickly as possible after the parliamentary elections. Those in the inner milieu of the president admit that the coalition will be formed strictly based on the results of the elections. Poroshenko’s proposal was a response to the aggressive advertising campaign of the People’s Front, which is intensively promoting its leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk for the seat of premier.

Tihipko sewing his parachute

The president believes that first and foremost “concise principles and criteria” for the division of responsibility of members of the coalition should be outlined in the agreement. “If we repeat the situation of a coalition government in which there will only be party quotas and not obligations of the party, this will not work. This is a thing of the past,” stated Poroshenko. He does not rule out the possibility that a coalition agreement can be signed before the parliamentary elections to form a government in the shortest terms in order to receive a new tranche of a loan from the IMF.

People’s deputy Volodymyr Kurreniy (UDAR), who is balloting on the list of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc (PPB), says it would be expedient if the said document is signed in the coming week. “I see among participants of the coalition agreement all political forces that profess European political values. Among them are the People’s Front, Samopomich (Self-help), Batkivshchyna and Citizens’ Position,” Kurreniy told Capital. He also does not rule out that independent deputies will try to join the coalition.

People’s deputy Andriy Senchenko (Batkivshchyna) labeled the president’s proposal a political technique, though he said his party is ready to participate in the formation of a coalition. “I don’t think that formation of this coalition will take much time. Consultations on the issue will be quite brief. What is important in forming a majority in the new parliament is that nobody dictates the terms and that the process takes into account the opinions of all participants,” Senchenko told Capital.

A source of the publication in the election headquarters of the PPB said unofficial consultations on the formation of the future coalition are currently under way. The meetings were held not only with the People’s Front (PF) and Batkivshchyna, but also with Strong Ukraine, he said. “So far, no talks have been held as all sides are waiting to see the results of the elections,” people’s deputy Oleh Shablatovych (independent), who has close ties with leader of Strong Ukraine Serhiy Tihipko, officially refuted information about talks with the PPB. Conversely, unofficially the source of Capital in the inner circle of Tihipko confirmed that preliminary talks with the president’s team were indeed held. “We have a constructive political force. If during the talks certain political rights are proposed that would give us direct access to the president, then we are ready for a union,” the source said.

Leader in TV advertising

An interlocutor of Capital in the PPB headquarters informed that the greatest difficulty in the talks on a coalition is the demand of the People’s Front to retain Yatsenyuk in the post of premier. “Arseniy went for broke. The aggressive ad campaign showing that he is a good premier and that we will elect the head of government in the elections could play a mean trick on him. I see in my team that this advertising incites nothing, but vexation,” the source assured.

The source also believes that the proposal of the president for drafting of the coalition agreement could have been a reaction to the aggressive canvassing campaign of the PF on television. Noteworthy is that according to data of the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Commission (NTRBC), in early October the party headed by Yatsenyuk became the leader in terms of placement of ads. The PF owns every fourth minute of political canvassing on television. According to top managers of several leading national TV channels surveyed by Capital, the number of ads of the PF has increased over the past several days.

In TV ads voters are called to vote for preserving Yatsenyuk in his post as head of the Cabinet of Ministers. “We live in a parliamentary-presidential republic and voters should keep in mind that by voting for the party they are effectively electing the premier. We are accenting on Yatsenyuk so that all voters recognize our candidate in this post. Before forming a coalition the candidacy of the premier must be determined and the talks should be public,” people’s deputy Serhiy Pashynskiy (Batkivshchyna), who is balloting on the list of the PF, explained to Capital the election strategy.

The source of capital in the PF headquarters assures that the candidacy of Yatsenyuk is supported by Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast State Administration Ihor Kolomoiskiy and the U.S. government. Be that as it may, those in the president’s inner circle believe the issue regarding a new premier should not be included in the coalition agreement. “After all, the political force that garners the majority of votes should nominate the candidate for this post. This is a right that was earned in the elections,” Kurreniy believes.