Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Speculation on coalitions

Lots of speculation in the Ukrainian media on possible pre-election and post-election coalition deals and combinations. Ukraine's big businessmen would probably settle for an NSNU-Partiya Regioniv arrangement. Some say that this is a 'done deal';
others say that a NSNU-BYuT + small fry deal will be done by the week-end.

PR-Socialist-Communist arrangements are even being discussed.

My guess is that most electors will take a rather cynical view of any coalition Scotch-taped together before polling day.

A truer picture of Ukrainian politics is painted in an illuminating article in 'Ukrainska Pravda' which reveals into which parties Ukraine's richest and most influential businessmen are 'placing' their people. Maybe they'll run it in English.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is a great article and many thanks for posting it - it is of vital importance that it be translated in english. Why no photo for no. 17, do you know?

LEvko said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
LEvko said...

Ah - the mysterious Dmytro [Dmitri] Firtash..The article calls him the grey cardinal of the Ukrainian gas sector.
According to http://www.ukraine-intelligence.fr/uk/news0001290b.asp "Dimitri Firtash is supposed to hold 15% [of Arogas, a part of RosUkrEnergo] even if he strongly denies this. The latter is a shady character who, at one time was suspected by the United States of indulging in the traffic of radioactive material with Iran. He has always been close to Gazprom as his name has also appeared in connection with EuralTransgas, a company similar to RosUkrEnergo, which was set up in Hungary according to the same principle. It is even believed that Ferkash, a Moguilevich [Semion Mogilevich] ally, is the real kingpin of RosUkrEnergo, through which billions of dollars transit each year, in an almost total lack of transparency."


Ukr Pravda have also run this article which may be of interest:
http://www.pravda.com.ua/en/news/2006/2/2/5017.htm
about people who have influence on Yuschenko. Tretyakov is at #18.

DLW said...

Democracies in our world have always tended to force the wealthy to hedge their bets and mitigated some the influence of wealth on policy.

At the end of the day, the hope needs to be in the development of stronger civil societies. Many of the Ukrainians I talked to this past summer thought that the answer was getting good people into office. I think local-oriented community development is important, as well as the development of better habits of political participation so as to trip up the ability of political technologists to manipulate elections and force more accountability and dynamism into gov't.

dlw

Anonymous said...

Has Ukr Pravda done corresponding like articles on the other main candidates and their orbits - like Yulia and Yanukovych? I know that they did one in 2004 on Yanukovych when he was running for Pres. and I would have been interested in seeing if/if any change has occured. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Actually you are all wrong, Mogilevich is not the "kingpin" behind RosUkrEnergo, it is Dimitri Firtash and British Director David Brown

Anonymous said...

Your absolutely correct it is controlled by Dimitri Firtash and David Brown. I have had met with both of them

Anonymous said...

Well i know the whole truth because i am closly related to one of them.