The member of parliament and a leader of the OPPOSITION BLOC says that the government has stolen three times more in one year than their predecessors, and that Ukraine faces a choice “victory or death”: “We have an alternative - peace and reconciliation”

- In the past political season you had a choice, with whom you wanted to be in the big politics of a renewed Ukraine. Why did you choose the OPPOSITION BLOC?

- The Opposition Bloc is a reasonable, patriotic and progressive political force. These are the people, who opposed the forceful dispersal of Maidan. They worked on the European integration of Ukraine and serious economic reforms, developed effective economic policies with the countries of the Customs Union. Unfortunately, at a certain point we found ourselves in the minority. The mercantile and authoritarian approaches prevailed. But I am convinced that if our point of view was heeded to in the winter of 2013, the hryvnia exchange rate [to the dollar] would be 8, we would not have lost Crimea and wouldn’t have had the war.

“The coalition of war,” which is now in power, seeks to impose on society their point of view. The most dangerous thing is they seem to believe that they can press on to achieve their goals at any cost, regardless of victims, destruction and law. I am confident that such a policy will not lead to the prosperity of the country, but will only aggravate the current crisis.

The OPPOSITION BLOC will never agree with this approach. We support the modernization of the country, speeding up the economic reforms, a constitutional reform based on a broad public dialogue and national peace. This is what unites the opposition today.

- The OPPOSITION BLOC is the third-largest faction in the parliament, but, contrary to the established political traditions, it did not receive any posts in the Rada, nor in parliamentary committees, nor positions in the executive branch. How successful is the functioning of the opposition, and is this election result adequate for successful work?

- The current attitude of the authorities towards the opposition is a clear criterion for assessments of what is going on in the country. Despite all the promises given to our society and pseudo-democratic rhetoric, the coalition of war is trying to do everything to deprive the OPPOSITION BLOC of mechanisms of control over the government. According to the classic distribution of roles, the opposition should control the committees on regulations, budget and freedom of speech. It also takes the post of First Deputy Speaker and so on. It is not only about the principles of democracy, but also established traditions. Instead, the coalition of war has not left the opposition a single post in the parliamentary leadership.

Despite the conditions in which the opposition finds itself today, we actively propose our draft laws in the area of ​​social justice, national reconciliation, the restoration of normal economic life. We are holding a direct dialogue with the public, and people see it.

- What does the emergence of the Shadow Cabinet mean? Is it your reparation for a coalition government or do you have ambitions to fully form your own Cabinet?

- The formation of a Shadow Cabinet by the opposition is international practice, it is a well-established tradition of modern democracies. Moreover, I think this move is timely for Ukraine. We see that the current government makes one mistake after another. Corruption is on the rise, the crisis in the national economy aggravates, and the standards of living are in free fall. The worst thing yet is if people begin to think that there is no alternative to this policy.

Public opinion polls show that today the Opposition Bloc shows a clear and stable trend to grow its popular support. Today we are the opposition, tomorrow we shall be in power. Today it is the Shadow Cabinet, tomorrow it may be a new government. We must be ready to assume power. We must have projects and draft laws to save the economy of Ukraine and ensure its effective development. The easiest way is to do nothing and just watch your opponents make mistakes. But this is not our path. The success of the country is more important to us than pleasure from mistakes of the current government. We are ready to share our projects with the government. It’s another thing that they (the government) are not ready for this. But that's another topic.

- Are early parliamentary elections realistic or not? Have you thought about what you would do if the OPPOSITION BLOC wins the election? Are you afraid to win and... lose your victory?

- Today you should not ask about the reality of early elections, but rather about their urgency. The current coalition simply cannot cope with the task of reforming the country. This is the coalition of war, they are counter-productive. And most importantly, they do not reflect the real political structure of our society, in other words they do not represent the interests of the majority of Ukrainians.

So, the only way out of this situation is new elections. Therefore, we support the Parliament reset already this autumn. Local elections may well be combined with an early election to the parliament. We have no doubt that the OPPOSITION BLOC will get a result that will reflect our position of a leading political force. And I'm sure that it will be the best option for Ukraine.

All political forces must remember that we now have a common cause. This is the cause of peace! West and East, the Black Sea coast, and Kiev are one Ukraine. The country wants to live a normal life it deserves. We are not afraid to win and are not afraid to lose the victory. We are afraid of the continuation of the destructive trends in the economy, the rift of the nation, and we will prevent this.

- The most popular word of the government today is “de-oligarchization.” People did not come out to the Maidan, they say, to defend their European dream, and not against Yanukovych, but rather against oligarchs. What is wrong with the oligarchs? And what do we need to do with them?

- So far all we see is but smoke screens. Arrests broadcast on live TV are a circus. People are waiting for the government to provide them with bread and circuses. This has always been this way. Since there is no bread, the government offers circuses only.

They devised two nice wrappers - lustration and the fight against oligarchs. It all sounds nice, but in reality the lustration is reduced to trivial elimination of competition, and corruption bloomed with new colors - in one year they stole three times more than the previous government.

The same applies to the fight against oligarchs. The government determines who is a good oligarch, and who is bad. Besides, the government, on the one hand, is allegedly fighting the oligarchy, and on the other gives them entire oblasts and regions as their feuds. These are mutually exclusive things. In reality, the oligarchs are fought by “junior oligarchs.” This is a strategic mistake, which could have irreversible consequences.

Modern world experience shows that the destruction of big business is synonymous with the failure of the policy of modernization and the degradation of the economy. In a civilized market it is the big business that is the engine of economic growth, innovation, building a modern and dynamic economy.

- The inviolability of private property is the ultimate cornerstone. Any redistribution of business kills the investment climate. How do you explain to the public that one can butcher a cow (even one of their neighbors) only once, and then there would be no milk tomorrow?

- I think that the public understands this dilemma perfectly well. That is why the government loses the support of our citizens due to the voluntaristic approach to the security of private property.

The denial of private property, the talk about re-privatization is a denial of market economy in general. This is the foundation you build a prosperous and civilized economic model on.

Unfortunately, our history is an illustration of what one should not do. And every time the government tried to take a course on “redistribution,” the economy responded with a recession, and investors - with a massive flight of capital.

- Where should Ukraine seek guidance for economic recovery? Should we focus on the modern financial world or the post-war Europe? Should we use experience of others or find our own way?

- In today's globalized world there is no special unique way. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. You just need to learn how to ride it. Ukraine must be built in Kiev, Donetsk and Lviv, and not in Brussels, Moscow or Washington.

Indeed, we should use international experience to overcome the economic crisis, as many anti-crisis instruments have already been developed, solutions have been researched. Recommendations of international financial institutions that have now become major donors of Ukrainian economy are important to us. We should listen to the opinion of the European Commission, as we move towards the European integration. This should help us to solve our tactical problems, including a balanced budget and financial policies ensuring the development of institutions of a modern economy and a favorable business climate.

But even success in solving the tactical problems is impossible without taking into account our national peculiarities, the geopolitical situation, understanding the markets for Ukrainian goods, the interests of Ukrainians, national businesses and public institutions.

- What should happen and where, for peace to come to our land? Whom does it depend on and what everyone can do to accelerate it?

- A bad peace is better than a good war. This is my point of view. Achieving peace is the main goal. And we will achieve it, wherever we are - in government or in the opposition.

Throughout the past year, our team has been working on an exit strategy from the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. We focused on ceasefire, prospects of reintegration and socio-economic recovery of Donbas. We also developed proposals on the practical implementation of the Minsk agreements. All these anti-crisis proposals had one common foundation - the principles of dialogue, compromise and the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The opposition proposed their own peace plan.

Unfortunately, most of these developments have been ignored by the authorities, even though the coalition of war has failed to offer their effective solutions. A multidimensional dialogue, however difficult it may be, is the key to peace. Unfortunately, the coalition of war is unable to achieve this.

I would like to emphasize that today Ukraine is not facing a choice “victory or death.” “We have an alternative - peace and reconciliation” But in order to pave the way to this solution, the Ukrainian society needs to reject its support for radicals of all sorts. In Ukrainian politics there should be no room for those who build their careers on the lives of Ukrainian citizens.