The Opposition in Ukraine: United or lost?

Now online from the current issue of New Eastern Europe – Ukrainian journalist Sviatoslav Khomenko examines Ukraine's opposition, its strategy, and the outlook for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The Opposition in Ukraine: United or lost?

By Sviatoslav Khomenko

The opposition in Ukraine is making its strongest attempt to date at coordinating efforts in preparation for the upcoming parliamentary elections. Whether or not they can actually get their act together still remains to be seen.

When describing the style and methods of the Ukrainian opposition, Kyiv’s political experts and publicists often use an aphorism from the famous Ukrainian politician and writer Volodymyr Vynnychenko: “Democrats unite five minutes before their execution.” And indeed, as has happened many times in Ukraine’s recent history, ideological forces and methods that are far from democratic have acted as a consolidated and united front in the political sphere. Meanwhile the democratic, pro-European parties, no matter whether they are in power or in opposition, never seem to find a common language in tactical and strategic matters, wasting time and valuable resources on internal disputes, and only find common ground for joint activities when there is actually no need to unite.

The article is available online: https://www.neweasterneurope.eu/node/282

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