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Anatoly Boyko: finally, the Ukrainian people took responsibility for the country

Anatoly Boyko is the permanent head of the Odesa regional organization of the VGO "Committee of Voters of Ukraine", a well-known public figure, whose sharp comments and expert opinion often touch the lives of local politicians and businessmen. In an exclusive interview EliteExpert he spoke about the future of political parties in Ukraine after our victory, about how the Ukrainian voter has changed, and what he is proud of in this most difficult time.

ON THE POLITICAL "DEFAULT" IN THE CONDITIONS OF WAR

In the all-Ukrainian dimension, the war finally confirmed that we do not have political parties, neither as communities nor as "living organisms". Today we are in a unique situation of political default. Because currently in the information space we have only political players - the President and those who oppose him, help him or have some middle position.

If we look at the political space in which those who influence decision-making in the state are located, we see only Zelensky.

This is due to the fact that, in general, in our country, political parties were an instrument of influence of oligarchs on power in order to obtain their preferences. For example, Poroshenko has a party and is an oligarch himself. Accordingly, before the war, while we all lived normal lives, oligarchs looted the country, financed political parties and projects, and in general we had a parasitic quasi-politics. After the start of the war, when the situation in the country changed dramatically and the question became a question of whether we fight or die, it turned out that the parties are completely unrelated to society — people live by themselves, help the army, and the parties, in turn, are somewhere far away, and it is not always clear what they do and who they are in general. This is especially clearly visible on the ground.

Of course, we have individual politicians and personalities, local organizations of political parties who work to help the population and the Armed Forces. But if you look at the all-Ukrainian level, I don't see a humanitarian network or humanitarian hubs of "Servants of the People" and other political forces. In our country, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Office of the President with the Cabinet of Ministers, and society with volunteers are fighting for victory.

In my opinion, each party should create volunteer centers throughout the country and take over part of the work in the region. For example, Prytula: we perfectly understand that he certainly has political ambitions and political plans. And his work today will come in handy if he wants to convert it into politics. Therefore, parties should take the same proactive position.

In addition, the parties represented in the parliament today unite far from poor people, and they could certainly purchase some equipment or equipment for the Armed Forces. Yes, we see armored cars from Poroshenko, but it is precisely from Poroshenko, not from "European Solidarity".

Therefore, in my opinion, after the victory and the end of the war, a stormy and interesting political life awaits us. Especially since the current government has de facto already started the political struggle for Zelenskyi's second term since May. And within the framework of this struggle, there is an additional and consistent cleansing of the political field of Ukraine.

ABOUT PROHIBITED PARTIES

This issue has several aspects. Firstly, today the process of liquidation of a certain list of parties is still ongoing - appeals or cassation appeals are being considered in the courts. But it is only a matter of time, because politically this issue has already been resolved by the authorities.

Secondly, today the legislation of Ukraine does not provide for the deprivation of the mandate of deputies from banned parties. Back in the spring, a similar bill was considered, but it has not yet been adopted.

The third aspect concerns the upcoming elections and the issue of lustration for such deputies. I assume that the Office of the President will be interested in lustration, because it will exclude many competitors from the political space and will simplify the task of winning the next elections. Therefore, the probability of the adoption of these laws is quite high, especially if Ukraine fully wins this war with access to the borders of 1991.

But if the lustration is not carried out, then we can again get the situation we had after 2014. And many representatives of OPZZH, as the party with the most resources, will go to the elections under new names, slogans and flags. Even now, when the OPZZ faction in the Odesa City Council dissolved itself, these deputies created the "Ukrainian Dream" group. This is as cynical as possible in my opinion, but it happened.

ABOUT NEW PARTIES AND NEW VOTERS

Undoubtedly, after the end of the war and our victory, the authorities will hold re-elections at all levels: to resolve issues with deputies from banned parties and strengthen their presence in all councils of the country. Therefore, it is obvious that we will see new political faces, projects and parties.

 Also, in my opinion, the Ukrainian voter will change. I really hope that all the events that are happening to us now will not leave us with the opportunity not to change. And first of all in a positive direction.

For me, the key change that has happened in our society now is that we have finally taken responsibility for the country. There have always been such people, but there were not enough of them. Today, this is a critical mass of people, and we can say that today the whole of Ukraine has turned into a Maidan. These are the people who are ready to fight for the country and its future.

And I sincerely hope that we will take the same responsibility for politics and political life. We will take a more conscious and critical approach to voting, and demand more from our politicians afterwards. I hope that the practice will finally disappear when you can "invest" once in the elections, and then spend five years embezzling funds and robbing the country. What will be the politics in which people will go for self-realization. I'm not saying the lofty words "to serve the people" - but at least not to profit from the country to buy villas, cars and planes.

And first of all, I hope that the Ukrainian voter will realize that he is the main one in the country, that he is not to blame for the politicians, but the politicians for him. But, of course, with mutual respect, so that it would be an honest and responsible partnership, not parasitism.

ABOUT THE FUTURE OF PARLIAMENTARY PARTIES

OPZZ is already banned, and we won't see them in the Verkhovna Rada anymore. "The Voice" did everything with its own hands so that it would not be elected anywhere else. "Batkivshchyna" - due to the fact that it has a small but loyal electorate, has a chance to stay and enter the Council again. "European solidarity" too - and Zelensky will "help" them in this, who will fight against Poroshenko, mobilizing his electorate. I don't know if "Servant of the People" will remain: maybe they will rebrand or do a completely new project, where they will take the most loyal people.

Probably, there may be some shadow of OPZZ - "for all that is good, against all that is bad", something manipulative with an attempt to accumulate those people who, during today's events, will lose their internal supports and will look for them in something comfortable and similar to their views. In my opinion, there will be enough of such people, about 20%, who will become a field for parasitism of such political projects.

Also, I do not exclude the situation that the parliament will be transitional. That is, elections will be held, but society will already be different, and political projects that will meet its demands will not yet be formed. And in this case, people will find themselves in a situation where they will be forced to vote not for those they would like, but for those who are. Therefore, any mistakes of politicians who come to power after such elections can lead to quick disappointment of the people and early parliamentary elections.

It is worth noting that there is a crisis of representative democracy today in many leading countries of the world. And the societies of these countries come to the point that the more traditional parties and politicians go, the more they lose the support and trust of the people. Because the people themselves are at a dead end: the existing format of politics does not suit them, and there is simply no other. Therefore, perhaps the world will come to something new, and Ukraine will be at the forefront of this formation.

ABOUT WHAT HE IS PROUD OF

I am sincerely proud that I was lucky enough to see and feel when the Ukrainian people finally took responsibility for the country and realized that only they can do it. And when no one in the world will ever ask again - where is Ukraine and how does it differ from Russia.

We stopped looking for our national idea and considered those who oppress us as older brothers. We have become adults.

And whatever the outcome of this war, it will still be positive for us. We have already won and won our future. Civilizationally and historically, we defeated both Russia and our destiny - and this is the most important thing. And Russia has already lost a generation. We already have a future, but they don't have it for the next generation. And this is not about embarrassment, it is about understanding what we are fighting for - we will never be like them again, and this is our main victory.

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