Ukrainian political scientist: Yanukovych is rotten asset, subjected to utilization

The cancellation of the “16 January laws” and Azarov’s resignation is a political combination of the authorities.

The opinion came from the head of the analytical center Third Sector Andrei Zolotarev, as he commented for the charter97.org web-site on the latest events in Ukraine.

“An old joke should be quoted here: a Jew comes to a rabbi and complains about life. The rabbi suggests him to buy a goat. The Jew buys a goat and in a while comes again to the rabbi and says that it is impossible to live like that. The rabbi says: Now sell the goat. The same thing with the “16 January laws”. I do not see it as a victory of democracy and common sense. This is a combination of political technology. First, you create a problem, and then you heroically sell its solution. In essence, all the parties came back to the positions of before 16 January, which means no concessions made by the authorities. Second, under the cover of these laws the absolutely paradoxical budget fell out of the scope, which may become a big problem come autumn. This is a budget, in which a hole of 100 billion can be seen, in which the whims of clans are realized, in which sharply increased is the financing of law enforcers at the expense of social security articles”, - the analyst pointed out.

The political scientist emphasized that “such a budget may easily lead from February to October – from a February Revolution to an October revolution, but the October revolution will go under socio-economic slogans this time”.

“It should also be noted that Azarov was not dismissed, but he applied for resignation. Here too the authorities are trying to keep the initiative and control the process. That is why the cancellation of the “16 January laws” and Azarov’s resignation is aimed at lowering the degree of the confrontation, but not at solving the fundamental problems. This is a castling and a tactical maneuver by the authorities. It is quite strong, but Maydan will not leave, because the problem of the political confrontation in Ukraine can only be solved with systemic changes. Now everyone perfectly understands that Yanukovych’s perspectives are doubtful. He turned into a rotten asset for oligarchs and external actors alike. The question is how his utilization will be stretched out in time”, - the expert concluded.

We would remind that on Tuesday, 28 January, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov applied for resignation before Supreme Council’s extraordinary session. It was one of the main demands of the opposition, which constantly criticized the Prime Minister for a pro-Russian stance.

Ukraine’s parliament also considered the issue of cancelling nine of the “dictatorship” laws, adopted on 16 January. Such a decision was supported by 356 parliament members. MPs voted for cancelling the nine laws altogether without discussing.