Pashko Koshevy
It's more than two weeks before the official start of the electoral campaign for Ukrainian parliament, but the "Our Ukraine" Party led by the most "orange" president of them all, Viktor Youshchenko, seems to have decided to take the bull by the horns right away and demoralize its opponents with several powerful blows below the belt.
With its characteristic "revolutionary" flare bordering on cynicism, "Our Ukraine" has quickly laid out its trump cards in the imminent electoral fight.
An article in today's issue of influential American magazine "US News and World Report" says that Ukrainian President Viktor Youshchenko, leader of "Our Ukraine", has approached several prominent US political technologists and PR-experts, asking for help.
Already next week head of president Clinton's administration John Podesta and former White House press secretary Michael McCurry are expected to come to Kiev.
At present J. Podesta is head of the Center for American Progress in Washington doing research in political science, and McCurry runs a PR company "Grassroots Enterprise", also in Washington.
It has long been common knowledge that American PR companies were vigorously helping Youshchenko to mount the Kiev throne last year. At that time it was widely reported that a certain Rock Creek Creative company that has its headquarters in a Washington suburb, had been aiding V. Youshchenko and his team in "developing an information strategy, its brand and policies for the Orange Revolution internet site".
Rock Creek Creative is an old hand on the market of political technologies. This private company specializes in PR, branding and "creative marketing". It provides its services to and conducts branding campaigns for NATO, CIA, the French defense and aerospace corporation "Thales", as well as for "various structures of the US government".
Naturally, the services of PR-experts of such a high caliber are very expensive. But the "orange crowd" has always been in the money. One example is the many weeks' farce on the Independence Square in Kiev when a spontaneous upsurge of the popular masses in support of V. Youshchenko was generously oiled by injections of banknotes of various denominations and colors and was richly fed and warmly clad at the expense of the "persecuted" - at that time – "orange" candidate.
Much was also said at the time about the sources of V. Youshchenko's funding – and those were not donations by rank-and-file Ukrainian citizens. Numerous Western foundations – government-sponsored and otherwise – had made lavish contributions to the making of the new Ukrainian "democracy".
Recently it has become known that V. Youshchenko's team was not squeamish about taking money even from such odious personalities as the "wanted" tycoon Boris Berezovski. B. Berezovski has himself informed a special parliamentary commission of the Ukrainian Supreme Rada that in 2004 he had transferred $21 million to support "the institutions of civil society" in Ukraine.
The tycoon has even threatened to take V. Youshchenko's closest associates Bezsmertny, Zhvania and Tretiakov to court, if they fail to give him an account of where his money has gone.
B. Berezovski's revelations have caused a scandal in Ukraine, but V. Youshchenko's cronies seem to believe that "cheek brings success".
Yesterday Ukrainian vice-premier, chairman of the political council of "Our Ukraine", Roman Bezsmertny, who has been reported to become shortly head of the electoral headquarters of "Our Ukraine", speaking live to one of the Ukrainian TV channels, said he would consult with B. Berezovski about the electoral campaign of 2006.
"I will have consultations, including some with Berezovski, about specific tactical tools for conducting the electoral campaign", said R. Bezsmertny, adding that he hoped B. Berezovski shared the views "Our Ukraine" stood for.
"The experience of our cooperation over the past three years has changed many things in my views on electoral campaigning and on politics in general", said R. Bezsmertny, meaning the cooperation with B. Berezovski.
R. Bezsmertny emphasized that he was not authorized to discuss the situation with B. Berezovski's funding the electoral campaign before he met with B. Berezovski himself.
That is how "Our Ukraine" and V. Youshchenko have casually shown their trump cards in the forthcoming electoral campaign. They have done it quite openly, sure of being absolutely right in their actions. And indeed, there is no need for them to hide anything, for it is all common knowledge, so it is better to declare it out loud: yes, Berezovski is helping us, yes, American PR-men are helping us. Here we are, elected by the people and loved by the people!
Having demonstrated, even before the start of the electoral campaign, rare impudence and cynicism, "Our Ukraine" is sure to squeeze all it can out of its administrative resource as well. After mopping up the Ukrainian political scene from "undesirable elements", replacing all heads of administration, some of them several times, Youshchenko's team are trying to take full control of the electoral commissions.
The "orange crowd" will not hesitate to use its past experience.
With its characteristic "revolutionary" flare bordering on cynicism, "Our Ukraine" has quickly laid out its trump cards in the imminent electoral fight.
An article in today's issue of influential American magazine "US News and World Report" says that Ukrainian President Viktor Youshchenko, leader of "Our Ukraine", has approached several prominent US political technologists and PR-experts, asking for help.
Already next week head of president Clinton's administration John Podesta and former White House press secretary Michael McCurry are expected to come to Kiev.
At present J. Podesta is head of the Center for American Progress in Washington doing research in political science, and McCurry runs a PR company "Grassroots Enterprise", also in Washington.
It has long been common knowledge that American PR companies were vigorously helping Youshchenko to mount the Kiev throne last year. At that time it was widely reported that a certain Rock Creek Creative company that has its headquarters in a Washington suburb, had been aiding V. Youshchenko and his team in "developing an information strategy, its brand and policies for the Orange Revolution internet site".
Rock Creek Creative is an old hand on the market of political technologies. This private company specializes in PR, branding and "creative marketing". It provides its services to and conducts branding campaigns for NATO, CIA, the French defense and aerospace corporation "Thales", as well as for "various structures of the US government".
Naturally, the services of PR-experts of such a high caliber are very expensive. But the "orange crowd" has always been in the money. One example is the many weeks' farce on the Independence Square in Kiev when a spontaneous upsurge of the popular masses in support of V. Youshchenko was generously oiled by injections of banknotes of various denominations and colors and was richly fed and warmly clad at the expense of the "persecuted" - at that time – "orange" candidate.
Much was also said at the time about the sources of V. Youshchenko's funding – and those were not donations by rank-and-file Ukrainian citizens. Numerous Western foundations – government-sponsored and otherwise – had made lavish contributions to the making of the new Ukrainian "democracy".
Recently it has become known that V. Youshchenko's team was not squeamish about taking money even from such odious personalities as the "wanted" tycoon Boris Berezovski. B. Berezovski has himself informed a special parliamentary commission of the Ukrainian Supreme Rada that in 2004 he had transferred $21 million to support "the institutions of civil society" in Ukraine.
The tycoon has even threatened to take V. Youshchenko's closest associates Bezsmertny, Zhvania and Tretiakov to court, if they fail to give him an account of where his money has gone.
B. Berezovski's revelations have caused a scandal in Ukraine, but V. Youshchenko's cronies seem to believe that "cheek brings success".
Yesterday Ukrainian vice-premier, chairman of the political council of "Our Ukraine", Roman Bezsmertny, who has been reported to become shortly head of the electoral headquarters of "Our Ukraine", speaking live to one of the Ukrainian TV channels, said he would consult with B. Berezovski about the electoral campaign of 2006.
"I will have consultations, including some with Berezovski, about specific tactical tools for conducting the electoral campaign", said R. Bezsmertny, adding that he hoped B. Berezovski shared the views "Our Ukraine" stood for.
"The experience of our cooperation over the past three years has changed many things in my views on electoral campaigning and on politics in general", said R. Bezsmertny, meaning the cooperation with B. Berezovski.
R. Bezsmertny emphasized that he was not authorized to discuss the situation with B. Berezovski's funding the electoral campaign before he met with B. Berezovski himself.
That is how "Our Ukraine" and V. Youshchenko have casually shown their trump cards in the forthcoming electoral campaign. They have done it quite openly, sure of being absolutely right in their actions. And indeed, there is no need for them to hide anything, for it is all common knowledge, so it is better to declare it out loud: yes, Berezovski is helping us, yes, American PR-men are helping us. Here we are, elected by the people and loved by the people!
Having demonstrated, even before the start of the electoral campaign, rare impudence and cynicism, "Our Ukraine" is sure to squeeze all it can out of its administrative resource as well. After mopping up the Ukrainian political scene from "undesirable elements", replacing all heads of administration, some of them several times, Youshchenko's team are trying to take full control of the electoral commissions.
The "orange crowd" will not hesitate to use its past experience.
