The passing week clears the air: the main candidates for the presidential race are already known. One started an offensive, the other encroached on the Constitution, and the third ones – huddled themselves up in a corner waiting for better times. Can we stand aside or do we need to constantly interfere in the political process and slap politicians on the wrist – read in the traditional digest of DUMKA.
For the visual accompaniment of the text, the exhibition How to be cool* at the PinchukArtCentre was chosen. The exhibition explores what today’s “to be cool” means. Looking for an answer to this question, the exhibition compares popular clichés and studies desperate attempts to answer them. This way, managers and artists are trying to identify the patterns of our behavior and the reasons we follow them. And who is trying to look cooler than politicians? Let’s go!
Petro Poroshenko runs for the presidency once again. A corresponding statement Poroshenko made at the forum “From Kruty to Brussels. We are on our way” on January 29.
“The sense of deep responsibility to the country, to our contemporaries, to the past and future generations of Ukrainians has prompted me to decide to run for the presidency once again,” Poroshenko said.
In his half-hour long speech, Poroshenko said that he would continue the policy of restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity politically and diplomatically,” using the sanctions’ instrument and the mechanism of the UN’s international mission throughout the occupied Donbas”. He also mentioned the path of Ukraine to the European Union and the slogan “Get away from Moscow”, as well as obtaining a visa-free regime and the establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
But even in the regulated event, there were some scandals. Attorney General Yuriy Lutsenko visited Poroshenko’s forum, despite the fact, that he cannot be engaged in politics according to the law. Answering the questions of journalists, Mr. Yuriy retorted saying, that “he represents the Prosecutor General’s Office and calls for the legitimacy of the elections”.
Also, the head of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine added that he is currently on a vacation. “Secondly, I am here as a citizen who is on a vacation and expresses his vision of the election without campaigning for any candidate,” the prosecutor general added.
Rapper Alyona Alyona was also noticed at the forum. Subsequently, she stated that she was called by the chairman of the Baryshiv district administration and was offered to attend a conference in which teachers, philanthropists, activists, and patrons would be involved in order to help the kindergarten where the singer worked previously.
Alyona Alyona added that “as soon as she could, she has left the event,” because she doesn’t want to have anything in common with any political organization.
What can you say? With the help of the rapper, it was almost possible to repeat failure with a fake appeal of Paolo Coelho in support of Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of the “Fatherland” during the presidential elections in Ukraine.
What an interesting set of candidates we have, be sure.
At the same time, another “interesting” forum of the Opposition Bloc took place. There the chairman of the political council Viktor Medvedchuk said that he has a plan for the peacemaking in Donbas, which can only be reached in the quadrangle Kyiv – Donetsk – Luhansk – Moscow.
Putin’s friend noted, that the plan provides for the creation of an autonomous region in Donbas as a part of Ukraine and the introduction of amendments to the Constitution that will determine the status of this region.
“Our plan includes three sections: the legislative, administrative and the section, concerning the order and procedures for its implementation. This plan is made, it offers the main thing, that distinguishes us from the rest. The main thing is … that we will return people… fulfilling the strategic task – to return Donbas to Ukraine, and Ukraine to Donbas,” he said.
Yes, but continuing the logic chain, we will get “and Ukraine to Russia”?
Actually, it is not surprising that there are enemies in Ukraine – this is a historic thing, but how can an enemy be inside the state and run for parliamentary elections?
But in this trash, there are also some glimpses of light. Leading singer of Okean Elzy band Svyatoslav Vakarchuk has officially stated that he will not take part in the presidential elections in the spring of 2019.
“I have repeatedly stated that I am not interested in the power as such, the presidential post as such. I am interested in real changes in the country. And to put all the things right, to answer all the questions, I officially state: I, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, will not take part in the presidential elections 2019,” is said in Vakarchuk’s appeal, published in the morning on January 28.
He noted that while “wearing jeans” he can make more for the country than while “wearing a tie” — “and I’m not going to stand aside.” Vakarchuk added that corruption “destroys the country”, and the unscrupulousness of politicians makes the country weaker.
Therefore, he and his team (not mentioning which team they are talking about) will work to ensure that pro-European forces win.
It seems that Vakarchuk simply looked at the presidential campaign of Zelensky, trying on all the infoglut and decided that he doesn’t need such a glory. In general, that’s the right decision, given the fact that he recently completed his studies at Stanford in the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program. It was founded only this year on the basis of the Center for Democracy, Development, and Rule of Law (similar to a Faculty of a typical Ukrainian higher education institution).
And, it seems, we will still see him in politics. I hope in a more transparent one.
Speaking of transparency. Zurab Alasania was punished for the clarity of the air. He was fired because UA: Pershyi TV channel didn’t cover the procession of the Cross of 2018, the UN General Assembly sitting in 2018, and also because the company “under the influence of Alasania” has “depoliticized the news”. This is stated in the part of the draft decision to fire Alasania, published by the ex-head himself.
According to the Supervisory Board, Alasania did not organize the broadcast of the channel “either as a socio-political channel”, nor as an “information and socio-political broadcaster with educational elements”.
Commenting on the decision of the Supervisory Board, a deputy from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc Solidarnist, Serhiy Leshchenko, stated that “Alasania was the guarantor of anti-corruption investigation programs on the TV channel, such as the “Schemes” and the “Public Procurement Bulletin”.
“Last year, they were trying to get rid of the broadcast under a false ground, but it did not work out. And now they simply fired the inconvenient TV channel manager. Two months before the election, they decided to get rid of the broadcast of the all-Ukrainian channel, that is of authorities’ criticism,” the deputy explained.
Does the “new censorship” really work – we will find out really soon. In case it really does – you know what to do with the ballot.
By Kostyantyn Rul
