Poroshenko’s European Solidarity party most opposed by public

The European Solidarity party headed by former
President Poroshenko is the most opposed by the Ukrainian public, according to
a poll conducted between May 15 and 31. About 48.1% of respondents said they
won’t vote for the party in the early parliamentary elections scheduled for
July 21. Another 21.9% are opposed to the Opposition Platform For Life party
led by Yuriy Boyko, who has a pro-Russian position, and 16.1% are opposed to the
Fatherland party led by Yulia Tymoshenko, known for her anti-IMF positions. The
poll, released on June 3, was conducted among 2,100 respondents by the Social
Monitoring Center and the Yaremenko Ukrainian Institute of Social Research.

Four parties would qualify for parliament if elections
were held today, according to the same poll. The People’s Servant party loyal
to President Volodymyr Zelensky would earn about 30.8% of votes, the Opposition
Platform For Life party has 8.2% support, the European Solidarity party has
7.9% support and the Fatherland party has 7.0%. Among the projected qualifiers,
the pro-Euro-Atlantic parties have 45.7% support, compared to 8.2% for the
pro-Russian party. Pro-IMF parties have 38.7% support, compared to 15.2% for
anti-IMF parties.

Zenon Zawada: European
Solidarity might be the most opposed party, but European Union membership is
still supported by 57% of the Ukrainian public, according to a poll conducted
in early May. So this latest poll merely confirms that Ukrainians don’t trust
Poroshenko in leading Ukraine towards the European Union. Competition for
Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic electorate will be intense in the elections, involving
at least a dozen parties, including The People’s Servant.

These four parties should enter parliament. What’s
worth considering is that billionaire oligarch Rinat Akhmetov doesn’t have a
stake in any of them, which would shut him out of Ukrainian politics for the
first time in more than a decade. Billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky has influence on
The People’s Servant, mega-millionaire Dmytro Firtash (estimated wealth USD 940
mln) is backing the Opposition Platform For Life, mega-millionaire Poroshenko
(estimated wealth USD 850 mln) leads European Solidarity. Tymoshenko is a
millionaire whose wealth has yet to be estimated.