People’s Servant to form coalition only with new parties, campaign head says

The People’s Servant party, loyal to Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky, will consider forming the parliamentary coalition with only
new parties, campaign manager Oleksandr Korniyenko told the pravda.com.ua news
site on June 13. Among these parties are the Voice (Holos) party led by rock
star Sviatoslav Vakarchuk and the Honor and Strength party, led by former
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Head Ihor Smeshko. People’s Servant will not
form a coalition with the pro-Russian party Opposition Platform For Life, the
anti-IMF Fatherland party led by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko nor the
European Solidarity party led by former President Poroshenko.

In forming its closed elections list, Zelenskiy and
Presidential Administration Head Andriy Bohdan merely set selections criteria,
without recommending their own candidates, Korniyenko said. The candidates
include campaign volunteers, experts in various fields, and “regional
representatives,” he said, stressing they have been carefully vetted for
corruption ties and criminal records. Zelensky suggested recruiting those with
Western university degrees. “But for someone to have said – this person is
43rd, this one is 25th – that didn’t happen,” he said.

The People’s Servant published its list of 200
candidates for its closed elections list the same day, mostly consisting of
newcomers to politics. Among the recognizable candidates was Andriy Gerus,
Concorde Capital’s former executive director who is currently serving as the
president’s representative to the Cabinet of Ministers.

Zenon Zawada: The
Zelensky presidency is turning out to be a radical experiment in democracy. Now
not just comedian Zelensky, but scores of average people with minimal political
experience are preparing to be thrust into positions of large responsibility.
The idea held by Zelensky’s supporters, who are fueling this grand experiment,
is that those not corrupted by Ukraine’s political system, and not beholden to
corporate interests, will approve legislation in the national interest to move
the nation forward as a whole. It’s an experiment that’s worth conducting, and
we believe its success will depend on the discipline of The People’s Servant
party in fulfilling the goals set by the Zelensky administration.

In Ukraine’s parliament, the most effective parties
are those that have a disciplined faction that works and votes consistently on
legislation, and whose MPs consistently show up to advocate for this
legislation throughout the process. (Absenteeism is a large problem.) Cobbling
together random people, no matter how well-meaning they may be, could be
troublesome in maintaining this needed discipline, especially when the faction
is projected to be so large. Smaller groups will inevitably emerge within the
People’s Servant, and may even split off. 

A similar experiment was conducted on a smaller scale
in the 2014 parliamentary elections, when soldiers, journalists and civic
activists were elected. The enhanced presence of inexperienced newcomers to
politics didn’t necessarily lead to corruption being reduced. This parliament
approved reforms legislation that was unprecedented for Ukraine, but it’s
widely acknowledged that it was too little, at too slow a pace. Of course,
these newcomers would argue that the influence of the Old Guard was still too large
to overcome.

As a result, the public’s current trust in the
legislature is near rockbottom (about 8%, compared to 80% of those polled in
January saying they have no trust in the parliament). That fact alone should
help Zelensky, since trust in government institutions can only go in one
direction, which is higher. Or it could remain at rockbottom.