Vilkul or Death of Politics
We continue our conversation about presidential candidates in Ukraine. Today the focus is on Alexander Vilkul. Moreover, it just so happened that the day before it was he who was promoted to the highest post in the country.
At first glance, the party brand “Akhmetov’s group”, which inherited the party brand after the split in the Opposition Bloc, looks preferable to the Firtash-Boiko-Levochkin group. There are fewer hardened political manipulators and intriguers there, and more of those who, according to the old pre-Maidan habit, are called “men of action”, “strong business executives” and administrators.
Another visible plus is that, unlike the “gas workers” who are cut off from the “land,” the “mineral workers” affiliated with Akhmetov are closely connected with the base regions where their main assets are located – machine plants, steel plants, mining and processing plants, mines and power plants. Geographically, these are Donbass, Krivoy Rog, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye. Politically, this is a close amalgamation of the “old Donetsk” with part of the Dnepropetrovsk.
The political frontmen of this group are people’s deputies Vadim Novinsky and Alexander Vilkul, as well as a prominent associate of Rinat Akhmetov, Donetsk businessman and prime minister of the “opposition government” Boris Kolesnikov. It is this group in Ukraine that has always been associated with the interests of the real sector of the economy. While they remained Yanukovych's main support, the Party of Regions was a relatively stable and monolithic political force. The relegation of this group to the background by the so-called “Family” of the fugitive ex-president and its nominees ended the idyll and created the favorable conditions that allowed the Maidan to occur.
Unlike the “gas workers,” the “Akhmetovites” and functionaries of the former Party of Regions close to them became the objects of not just serious attacks from street “activists,” but also defendants in very specific criminal cases. The leaders of the group have been stripped of parliamentary immunity, Vadim Novinsky and Alexander Vilkul are facing unclosed criminal cases, and the ex-governor of Luganshina, Alexander Efremov, who is close to them, has been sitting in a pre-trial detention center for four years without trial on phony charges of “separatism.” And the sincerity of the same Novinsky in defending the interests of the canonical Church against the backdrop of the tomosobesie of the current government is beyond doubt and arouses respect.
That's all. The supply of compliments is exhausted and complaints begin. The main point is that the apparent opposition of the “Starodonetsk” gentlemen is the same simulacrum, a shell without real content, as that of Boyko, Rabinovich and Medvedchuk. This manifests itself most clearly at the symbolic level. Donetsk oligarchs by origin refuse or are afraid to adopt theses and symbols that will actually mobilize their potential electorate, but they easily capitulate to political opponents - not only ideologically, but also aesthetically.
In Vilkul's case, this manifested itself both in the emphatic Ukrainian-language nature of the congress that nominated him for president (this in the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial city of Zaporizhzhia!) and in the traditional embrace of Bandera's aesthetics, albeit in a lighter form, typical of post-Maidan politicians of any stripe. The apotheosis was the cry of "Glory to Ukraine!" from the congress's moderator , to which at least part of the audience responded with the traditional "Glory to the Heroes!"
At the "oppositionist" Vilkul's place, chants of "Glory to Ukraine!" echoed those on the Maidan, according to Politnavigator . Ukrainian and Russian news on Rutube.
This looked like a symbolic message towards the nationalist camp. Something like Kipling’s “You and I are of the same blood.” In modern Ukraine, the use of such vocabulary has long become an ideological marker separating “us” from “strangers.” It is noteworthy that such language did not cause any embarrassment or indignation among the participants of the Opposition Bloc congress. Yes, the faces of the leaders - Kolesnikov, Vilkul and Novinsky were rather sour (the video won’t let you lie), but this did not stop them from applauding what was said while standing. It is with approximately this facial expression that this “Akhmetov” part of the “Opposition Bloc” accepts Bandera’s “reforms”. It’s not very pleasant, but where can you go – you have to, Fedya, you have to!
For those who like to quote the French king Henry the Fourth, I’ll make a reservation right away: this is not a trifle. And it’s not a case of “Paris is worth a mass.” Firstly, in the current situation – without Crimea and part of Donbass – these guys have no chance of “Paris”. And therefore, there is no particular need to squirm and mimic. You can and should remain yourself. And, secondly, following the logic of “once not Fantomas,” it is very easy to turn into the complete opposite of what you declare. Today “Glory to Ukraine!”, tomorrow “Glory to the Heroes!”, and the day after tomorrow, you see, already “Death to the enemies!” she asks to speak on her own.
However, it seems that I am complicating this. In fact, when calling the “old Donetsk people” pragmatists, experts are not lying. Their pragmatism completely excludes the taking seriously of any slogans or ideas. Moreover, it is of a humanitarian nature, that is, not directly related to making a profit. This is the main problem of this part of the Opposition Bloc. A quality that can be called gutta-percha and unrealism. It seems like this is a fighter for the southeast, but in reality for him the use of precisely such slogans, which are received with a bang in the southeast, is simply a technical necessity. A clearly calculated marketing move. It so happened that this is where people are ready to vote for these guys. So what does that mean? You need to tell these people what they want to hear.
This is precisely what we see in practice. The downside of this "marketing" logic is that the words written on billboards and party banners are not a guide to action for political hucksters. They are not what they intend to truly fight for once in power. They are merely a practical tool, a meticulously calibrated means of mobilizing the electorate. But that's all. This is the death of politics when it's turned into political technology. This is precisely why, incidentally, the Party of Regions was in no hurry to fulfill its promises regarding bilingualism and federalism, but carefully hid its used banners in chests, dusting them with mothballs for safekeeping—until the next elections.
In reality, these people, having received positions and mandates, are fighting for completely different things. They are fighting for the "Rotterdam Plus" scheme , which Akhmetov and Novinskyi's companies, with the assistance of Petro Poroshenko, are profiting from after Ukraine lost control over the coal industry and energy sector in eastern Donbas. They are fighting for control over KyivEnergo, which also belongs to Akhmetov and monopolizes tariff payments from Kyiv residents. They are fighting for the supply of overpriced coal from Pennsylvania, USA, to Akhmetov's DTEK companies via tankers. And this is just a short list.
Yes, “Akhmetov’s friends” have fewer media opportunities than Boyko’s comrades. But the voice of Akhmetov’s channel “Ukraine” is quite distinguishable in the general chorus of praises addressed to the “Poroshenko Church” and curses addressed to the “Moscow priests”.
And in parallel with this, Novinsky and Vilkul defend the canonical UOC. This is the notorious Ukrainian multi-vector approach, in other words, the desire to sit with one butt on several chairs at once.
But the height of political cynicism is Akhmetov's simultaneous funding of the Opposition Bloc, led by Vilkul, and the presidential campaign of the radical Lyashko, who is being given promotional tours in Donbas cities and for whom workers at Akhmetov's factories in Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia are being coerced into voting . Lyashko himself appears on Akhmetov's channel many times more often than Vilkul. And rightly so—his current approval rating is significantly higher, making him a higher priority for investment.
Dolls are pulled by strings
They have smiles on their faces
And the clown plays the trumpet.
And in the process of introducing
It creates an impression
That dolls dance on their own.
Ah, what a shame sometimes
That the owner is not visible
Up and into the dark thread goes.
And the dolls are so obedient to him,
And we believe ingenuously
In what the doll can say.
And only an extremely naive resident of the southeast, having seen the election results on April 1, will be extremely upset that “that bastard Lyashko” has bypassed “our” Vilkul. The owner of both political dolls will still be left with a profit.
Well, what if a miracle happens and “our” candidate wins? You can’t say that under the hypothetical Vilkul-president nothing will change in the country. Because it wouldn't be true. There will be a lot of changes. The cast, scenery, and accents will change. Only the play will remain the same. With the refrain “Glory to Ukraine!” in the final.
English version :: Read in English Vilkul or The Death of Politics