With so many voters apparently undecided and decidedly unexcited by the various parties making the running in the coming parliamentary elections, it could well be that single issues will be the key to capturing all those floating ballots. The pseudo-Soviet stability parties will no doubt try to take advantage of this by picking on flash-point issues such as NATO, Russian relations and other misleadingly emotive but ultimately peripheral themes, but at this early stage the single most appealing campaign pledge looks like the Our Ukraine/People's Self Defense commitment to abolish the immunity currently enjoyed by Ukrainian MPs.
No more “get out of jail free” cards
This manifesto promise is both concise enough to need no further explanation and far more digestible than the various calls for constitutional amendments and new forms of government currently doing the rounds. While few people can work themselves into a sweat over the prospect of a referendum on a two-tier parliamentary system, the idea of stripping the clan bosses of their “get out of jail free” cards is deliciously appetising for the vast majority of voters, whatever their broader political preferences may be - it may even be enough to secure a working majority for a renewed Orange coalition.
The political classes are rarely held in high esteem anywhere in the world, but there are few countries where politicians are as negatively perceived as in Ukraine. Among the general public the notion that the country's politicians are in league with organised crime continues to enjoy wide circulation and MP immunity is commonly regarded as the official stamp of approval for lawless lawmaking.
Rada’s reputation in tatters
Such negative assessments are not without foundation, as ever since independence the Verkhovna Rada has served as a clubhouse for some of the shadiest figures in the country, who have consistently used their precious immunity along with the considerable powers conveyed on members to head up semi-criminal clans commanding preposterous wealth and far-reaching influence. Immunity has acted as a major attraction to those who have reason to fear prosecution, producing a parliament that boasts more brawn than brains and which has been the scene of the most disgraceful fistfights in modern European parliamentary history.
The pro-democracy parties have been just as guilty as their political enemies of playing this game, with membership lists full of powerful businessmen whose empires often remain to varying extents in the shadows. From President Yushchenko's notorious “Dear Friends” to Princess Yulia's oligarch admirers, there has been no shortage of questionable personages filling the pro-democracy ranks in recent parliaments, while it is an open secret that all parties have indulged in the practice of selling off seats to leading businessmen with little or no consideration for their individual political leanings.
The presence of big business representatives as MPs was at the root of the alleged purchase of opposition members by the ruling coalition earlier this year, which led directly to the dissolution of parliament and the latest so-called political crisis.
Yushchenko takes moral high ground
Yushchenko's move was forced upon him by fears that if the coalition managed to buy up a 300-member majority then it would be in a position to change the constitution and bypass the presidency entirely, leaving him as a largely ceremonial figure. In other words, after years of buying and selling parliamentary seats, action was finally taken against the practice when it threatened to create a coup scenario and change the political landscape forever.
Yushchenko's decision to dissolve the Rada and face down his opponents has proved successful thus far largely because he has been able to take the moral high ground against a parliament that is not so much discredited as disgraced. His exploitation of popular disdain for the squabbles, bribery and fisticuffs of the MPs while citing the need for a clear separation between business and politics has clearly struck a positive chord with the electorate.
Removing immunity entirely would be a huge step towards creating such a separation, and also would go a long way to discouraging businessmen and bandits from seeking office in the first place. Few Ukrainians would argue that such a development would be more than welcome. With the Orange coalition seemingly united behind this push to remove immunity, it could become increasingly difficult to justify its continuation without openly acknowledging the criminal connections for which the Ukrainian political elite have long been notorious.
