Lutsenko resigns as Poroshenko Bloc faction head

Yuriy Lutsenko, a hero of the EuroMaidan protest, submitted on July 3 his resignation as the head of the parliamentary faction of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, reported his press secretary. His resignation was a reaction to voting on July 2, which involved a vote for a controversial bill on foreign-currency denominated consumer debt, reported pravda.com.ua, citing anonymous MPs within the faction. Lutsenko didn’t consult with anyone and his statement was a surprise to his fellow faction members, pravda.com.ua reported.

The Poroshenko Bloc parliamentary faction will meet this week to reach a final decision on Lutsenko’s status, said on television on July 4 Ihor Kononenko, the first deputy faction head, who said his fellow party members would do their best to convince Lutsenko to remain as faction head.  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met with Lutsenko for two hours on the day he submitted his resignation.

“The president expressed his full support for Lutsenko as the faction head, as the head of the political force and asked him to remain in his position and continue to lead the faction,” Kononenko said, adding that Lutsenko “wants to review this issue and openly discuss with his faction colleagues what doesn’t suit him currently within

the faction and what things need to be corrected, as then decide afterwards.”

Zenon Zawada: As one of the key political prisoners during the Yanukovych era, Lutsenko was a symbolic, charismatic figure for the Poroshenko Bloc that helped create the appearance that it was a force for change. In making him its faction head, the party gained his share of trust that he earned from the public during his 27 months in prison and his activism during the EuroMaidan.

Without Lutsenko at the helm in parliament, the Poroshenko Bloc starts to look more like a standard oligarch-sponsored patronage party. Indeed the party has few politicians who match Lutsenko’s charisma. So if Lutsenko fulfills his plans to resign as faction head, we believe that will hurt the popularity of the Poroshenko Bloc, particularly ahead of the October local elections.