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a note.
“Besides the unusual political grandstanding around such a document, the June 18 vote indicates that there is no consensus on the government’s plans and priorities. That’s even within the People’s Servant faction, which couldn’t muster enough votes to approve the program on its own (which it’s capable of). The other factions decided that they’re better off attacking the program than offering their support, which means in essence that they are betting on it to fail.”
“This episode indicates a total vacuum in political leadership in Ukraine, with no one willing to support PM Shmyhal in this immensely difficult period. We believe even President Zelenskiy has a strategy of shifting all blame onto Shymhal, who will serve as a convenient scapegoat for everyone, for all things bad.”
“For this very reason, we believe the calls for Shmyhal’s resignation to be strictly political theatre, as the major players find him to be a valuable political foil. This proverbial punching bag will be kept around as long as possible, especially when the soft-spoken technocrat doesn’t seem to mind this role. He has yet to go on a political attack in his three months as prime minister.”
2.7 Four parties dominate parliamentary politics, local mayors entrenched
Four parties continue to dominate the Ukrainian political landscape, according to the latest poll for the parliamentary vote released on June 30.
About 30.3% of those who intend to vote would cast their ballot for the pro-presidential party The People’s Servant, 21.8% for the pro-Putin Opposition Platform For Life party, 15.7% for the pro-NATO European Solidarity party and 8.5% for the anti-IMF Fatherland party.
No other party crosses the 5% threshold. The poll was conducted by the Western-sponsored Razumkov Center between June 17 and 24.
In Odesa, Ukraine’s third-largest city, the scandalous mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov is likely to be re-elected, according to a poll conducted by the Rating Sociological Group that it published on June 17.
About 48.7% of local residents who plan to vote said they will cast their ballot for Trukhanov, who was alleged by the BBC news service to have been among the leaders of a murderous international criminal gang, enabling him to earn enough capital to get involved in politics in the early 2000s. He faces criminal charges of price gauging that cost the city budget UAH92.7mn during his time as mayor.
The poll’s runner up is Mikheil Saakashvili, who would earn 13.7% of votes after making a splash as the Odesa regional administration head in May 2015-November 2016. Saakashvili currently leads the National Reforms Council and has not expressed his intention to run for Odesa mayor.
Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov announced on June 19 the launch of a new party,
12 UKRAINE Country Report July 2020 www.intellinews.com
