Institutional stalemate and political steps

Expert questioning of “Viche”

The political crisis in Ukraine doesn’t only come to the “unconstitutional forming of the parliamentary coalition”, which is interpreted as the reason for conducting the pre-term elections in the Verkhovna Rada in the decree of the President. The crisis, probably, has objective foundations. What are they and “what will happen with our Motherland and us”? We tried to get to know about it at our authoritative political scientists. In particular, we made a request to answer such questions:

1)         Is the conducting of pre-term parliamentary elections the most optimum method of solving of political crisis?

2)         If pre-term elections take place, will they assist the stabilization of social and political situation?

3)         What additional measures are power institutes to apply in order to neutralize destabilized factors?

4)         Is it worth to go over the Basic Law again in the direction of continuation or rolling up of “political reform”?

This questioning is the continuation of the carried out one in the present February issue of “Viche”. Then the president of Ukrainian Academy of political sciences, corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine Mykola MYKHALCHENKO was the one among experts who forecast the possibility of conducting of pre-term parliamentary elections. He considers presently, that “only new elections, which are better to conduct in October–November, 2007, will settle a stalemate situation in the mutual relations between the branches of power”. According to his opinion, “new elections will assist stabilization of both political and economic situation”, and the revision of the text of the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws about elections, in particular. Answering the third question of questionnaire, Mykola Mykhalchenko marked the necessity of “signing the Constitutional agreement about the terms of elections and directions of improving the Constitution and electoral legislation”. He also considers that “there is no necessity on the whole to go over the Constitution again. But it is required to co-ordinate all articles, that they did not conflict with each other. So a new version of the Constitution of Ukraine is needed. What concerns presidential-parliamentary or parliamentary-presidential republic a valuable referendum is needed”. Time will show, whether the prophet of Ukrainian political science will manage once again to shame an author of the aphorism: there is no prophet in our Motherland.

We will acquaint readers with thoughts of other participants of the expert questioning.

Ivan VARZAR, doctor of political sciences, professor, academician of the UAPS

“Pre-term elections” (if it was not the revenge-reflection of the changed on December, 8, 2004 forms of political rule) would be a “normal method of settling a normal political crisis”, and from the artificially developed crisis the unrestricted “pre-term stopping of plenary powers” of the legitimate parliament is the unconstitutional method of usurpation of all political power.

Presently we should anyway wait the decision of the Constitutional Court.

1) we are to stand for pre-term elections only in case presidential elections take place simultaneously ; 2) we are to pass immediately the law about the President (the next President has to be elected by the parliament, he has to be written with a small letter and he should be left on this post of the slang name “country's leader”, as the parliament will to be its head); 3) we are to adopt immediately – even in the “temporal” version - the law about the judicial and legal system (the liquidation of the Constitutional Court and the delegation of its powers to the Verkhovna Rada are to be foreseen in it, and for a corps of especially constitutional judges the only one skilled source - members of Higher assembly of justice – is to be foreseen); 4) to specify the laws about the order of elections and status of national deputies (but for all that foreseeing (а) the mechanism of recall of deputies, (б) the returning of majority principle to local elections.

Successful revolution develops into reform; unsuccessful, “languid” reform calls a new revolution. And in such a way – in permanent tragic and farcical circle.

Valeriy BEBYK, doctor of political sciences, chairman of the government of the Allukrainian association of political sciences

Extraordinary parliamentary elections will scarcely contribute to settling the system political crisis, which has deep historical, politically-legal and socially-psychological ground. It would be naive to think that this crisis began in 2007.

The problem is that the main reason for political conflict is not the opposition of personalities – Victor Yushchenko and Victor Yanukovych. The problem, above all, lies in the conflict of offices, government plenary powers of the President and the Prime Minister, the President and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada. And the point is not in the surnames, but in the resources of power, which one or another public servant possesses.

In a modern situation the unbalanced Constitution, which is written and “politically reformed”, is a basic “destabilizing” factor.

Maksym ROZUMNYI, candidate of philosophical sciences, manager of department of strategic communications of the National institute of strategic researches

In the practice of democratic regimes the pre-term elections are actually the optimum mean of settling a political crisis, but not every, only that its variety, that is related to the crisis of legitimacy of power in force.

Unfortunately, such elections stabilize only one element of the political system - they will contribute to temporary closing-down of political elite in that, in no way optimum membership, which it is in April, 2007.

Additional agreements to those foreseen by the current legislation can be only gentleman’s agreements about certain limitations in application of dirty technologies can be measures only.

It should be expected that by the present sharpening of political opposition, crisis of all political establishments, with the Constitutional Court, in particular, the work on changes to the Basic Law is automatically put aside. And attempts to amend the Constitution due to situational advantage in the parliamentary hall can really lead to the establishment of dictatorship.