Original article in Russian by Pavel Bulhak, for UP
Translated by Eugene Ivantsov
For the recent two years opposition and authority have repeatedly changed places. During parliamentary pre-election campaign 2006 Yanukovych and Co. became ardent oppositionists. They learnt how to block the rostrum and drag authorities through mud. Yulia Tymoshenko Block, Our Ukraine and Socialist Party defended themselves and sometimes used administrative resource, being an official authority.
After the coalition saga the situation has radically changed again – now Party of Regions and SPU run the country, while Our Ukraine and BYuT are in the opposition again.
What has changed after these merry-go-rounds?
In fact, nothing has changed. The country keeps on watching new series of the same political soap opera without any visible progress.
The authority is still perceived as a competitive advantage of certain financial-industrial groups over others. The opposition became the way of seizing power but not the source of alternative decisions and proposals. This is a modern model of Ukrainian politics.
Opposition as an Alternative to an Official Authority
Traditionally, authority is considered as a central, organizational, regulative and controlling branch of politics. It is the right and possibility for the subject of politics to impose its own will, give orders to other people, social groups and even states through authority, legislation, compulsion and other methods.
The problem of authority acquires features of a fatal inevitability, which can be both in the service of Good and Evil since it can be the force which depresses and oppresses and the force which liberates and improves.
Often, authority conflicts with social needs and expectations due to such factors as the government’s subjective view of the problems and possible ways of resolving them. Inner sense of the necessity to change the authority gives birth to a search for a new force, alternative to an official authority. This alternative force usually becomes the opposition in the Western democratic countries.
Change of power in such cases is carried out through the process of a democratic election. A true role and mission of the opposition is resolving controversy and contradictions between the society and the authority, caused by different natures of these spheres of social life.
That’s why supporters of the opposition in the Western democratic countries do not consider their goal to be just change of power. To support and vote for the opposition means to improve democracy from inside, instead of changing it and jeopardizing principles of democracy.
The opposition also guarantees more opportunities for people to take part in political processes. The opposition pressures the government for the latter becomes more attentive to the problems and needs of the voters.
The Treat of an Uncivil Opposition
According to the famous German political scientist Oberreuter, the society can speak of a civilized opposition only when contradictions and discrepancies between the majority and minority are based on a fundamental unity and do not jeopardize principles of the constitutional and legal systems.
What is the situation like in Ukraine?
Now the Verkhovna Rada has registered Draft Bill on the Opposition submitted by lawmakers from Party of Regions, Our Ukraine and BYuT. This bill is a lot better and progressive than the previous ones. At least this bill will not make the opposition the second executive branch of power, as Yulia Tymoshenko wished it.
The opposition is given leadership in 12 parliamentary committees, in particular: the committees for Freedom of Speech, Legal Support of Law Protection Activity, Human Rights, Budget, Parliamentary Regulations, Functioning of Legal Proceedings, Protection of Rights for Industrials, Entrepreneurs and Investors.
This list also includes Committees for Control Over Social Standards and Securing of Proper Living Standards for Citizens, Control Over State Monopolies, Energetic Security, Agricultural Policy, Health Protection, Education and Science.
Besides, the opposition is granted the offices of the First Deputies of all parliamentary committees, except for those chaired by representatives of the parliamentary opposition.
The present document implies mechanisms of parliamentary control over the government which, in fact, complies with norms and traditions of European oppositional activity.
We can forecast that the Draft Bill on the Parliamentary Opposition, which has been arleady agreed with all parliamentary factions, has got favorable chances to be adopted in the near future. That will lay foundation of the institution of a parliamentary opposition. However, adoption of this bill is not enough for the completion of such a process.
Here comes another problem.
Will oppositionists, protected by the law, work for the good of the country instead of, making use of the same law, spreading corruption and destabilizing situation from inside, taking revenge on both authority in general and individuals from the government?
For the modern generation opposition is associated with either personal struggle against somebody or a fight with some abstract enemy like ‘corrupt regime’ or ‘revenge-seekers’. These roles of the opposition and authority have comfortably settled in the mass consciousness.
Moreover, younger generation of politicians seems to have inherited this tradition. Opposition in this case is considered weapons of mass destruction, targeted at destabilization of a certain political system and destruction it from inside. Let’s recall that originally the opposition aims at looking for the new ways of social and political consensus.
Eternal Deficit of Consensus
Lack of consensus is the main problem of a national opposition. By now, we can state there are at least three oppositions in Ukraine: BYuT, Our Ukraine and non-parliamentary opposition –Ukrainian People’s Party, Lytvyn’s party and Katerynchuk’s non-Orange supporters.
All plans and intentions to form some sort of an all-national oppositional confederation or united oppositional unity have failed so far.
At that, each of the opposition members tried to get personal leadership in the oppositional camp, although an effective oppositional unity implies functioning of collective administrative and executive bodies, which are constantly cooperating within the unity.
Regardless of declarations of friendship and coordination of activities, cooperation of BYuT and Our Ukraine is not systematic. It looks like the key oppositional figures still distrust each other.
Given the circumstances, unification of the opposition will be carried out in a ‘traditional Ukrainian way’ when oppositional forces unite their efforts with the aim of overcoming a common enemy.
That is the exact way the Anticrisis Coalition and Yanukovych’s government were actually formed.
A short term unification of the opposition may start with a common appeal of BYuT and Our Ukraine to the Constitutional Court concerning legitimacy of the Political Reform, and united efforts aimed at resignation of the government and calling of an early parliamentary election.
Still, even after early election and abolishing of the Political Reform each oppositional force will act on its own again, pursuing its own goals.
By presidential elections, we may forget about a united opposition at all. The authority still means competitive advantages of different financial-industrial groups.
Reluctance of authorities to meet halfway is a big trap for the opposition.
It is not a secret that Party of Regions will nominate their own candidate to run for president. Neither Yulia Tymoshenko nor Viktor Yushchenko will be able to overcome this candidate separately.
If the opposition wants not only to seize power but also to keep it, oppositional leaders have to consolidate and reach consensus not only to make Yanukovych’s government step down.
The opposition needs to present new legislative initiatives and alternative ways for development of the country, fixing the budget, defining the course of the foreign and home policy.
The society must be sure they can entrust the power to the opposition. The opposition must persuade people it is a more fair, moral and professional team than the present government.
Pavel Bulhak, for UP
