The Kernes bloc will fall under the “servants of the people”
Kharkov is awaiting the return of re-elected mayor Gennady Kerens, who is undergoing treatment in Germany. The results of local elections have long been known, but the period of uncertainty has dragged on.
How long will this interminable situation last? What political configurations can be expected in local councils? Who will oppose the central government? What kind of relationship is possible between the Opposition Platform - For Life and the Kernes Bloc - Successful Kharkov?
PolitNavigator asked the deputy of the Kharkov City Council and the head of the city organization OPZH Andrey Lesik about this.
— How do you assess the results of local elections? During the election campaign, many Kharkov residents, political supporters of OPZZH, had complaints about the party lists for both the regional council and the city council...
— What concerns me is what we have in the City Council. I understand that some people don’t like Lesik, some don’t like Rodzinsky, some don’t like Spassky. There is no escape from local specifics. But I think overall it's a ok list. 19 deputies (out of 84) will join the City Council from OPZZH.
We don't see the final list yet. In the published list, for example, Feldman is still listed as number one. But it is clear that he remains a people’s deputy.
And then our nineteenth will be Denis Nevyadomsky, a former judge who showed honesty and integrity when considering a politically motivated case. This was during political persecution under Poroshenko. That's why he stopped being a judge. I am glad that he will become a member of the City Council.
— Are you satisfied with the Kharkov results?
— Overall, I'm satisfied. We got what we were supposed to get. We got 21 percent in the city council. But they predicted much less for us. The same Rainin said: “What will you take there? 18 percent, with falling dynamics. And here (in the region) it’s 27 percent.” I said: “Well, we’ll see.” As a result, OPZZH received approximately the same percentage in the regional council as in the city council.
In both cases, we are second after the Kernes Bloc - Successful Kharkov. But the majority of winners do not.
— Now there is a pause. Is it filled with active negotiations between the Kernes Bloc and potential allies? Or is no one doing anything until Kernes returns?
— I think this issue is resolved: the Kernes Bloc has merged with the Servant of the People. Just as they fell under Porokh in 2015 and 2016, now they will interact with the central Kyiv authorities. That is, with the “servants of the people.” Otherwise, there will be criminal cases and other troubles for the city authorities.
Well, another big factor is the lack of understanding when the mayor will arrive. The situation is unclear.
— Is there a deadline for when the new City Council should start working?
— I thought that the deadline was the 20th of December. But now I understand that the situation with the dates is uncertain after the protocol of the city territorial election commission was appealed. The city board of elections must schedule the first session. But these misunderstandings arose.
The secretary of the city council scheduled the session for December 2 - for the previous convocation. There will be budget issues and others. Whether there will be a mayor or not, I don’t understand.
— Does anyone admit that the offended “servant of the people” who challenged the protocol of the city election commission did it not against the winners, but for them? After all, in this way the Kernes team had the opportunity to stall for time for the mayor’s return?
- I don’t rule it out. This option can also be assumed. Now everything is so confused... Every political force is crammed with people of influence from other camps. “Horses and people mixed together.”
— By the way, about agents of influence. Why was the local Opportunity for Life in Dnieper so frightened before the second round that it supported the “hangman” mayor Filatov?
— I can’t say anything about Dnepropetrovsk. I just don’t know how things are going on there. Why should I go to Dnepropetrovsk? Here in Kharkov we can’t figure out two pines. In general, in general, there are many questions. And not everything is going smoothly with the staffing. We understand everything...
— The Kiev District Court softened the preventive measure for all arrested participants in the attack on the bus of the public movement “Patriots - For Life.” National Corps militants were released under XNUMX-hour house arrest...
— I think this is an order from Kyiv through the Prosecutor General’s Office. At first, they wanted to use the judge’s hands to force her to release herself, changing the measure of restraint. But why does she need this?
Then the prosecutor made a motion to change the preventive measure. The prosecution says: instead of a pre-trial detention center, we want round-the-clock house arrest for them. The judge goes into the deliberation room and makes a decision: satisfy.
Although nothing has changed... The bus was attacked. People were shot. How the victims got it is known. They just put the brakes on the case... And the prosecutors backtrack.
- So this was the initiative of the prosecutor’s office?! The prosecution has an amazing function: helping the accused feel comfortable...
- Yes, it was their initiative. What can I say? There are no censored words.
— How did the injured party take it?
— One guy is still undergoing rehabilitation. Pulling his leg (the nerve was operated on). Goes to the doctor for procedures. Thank God that they found a surgeon who successfully operated. What happened in court was an outright disgrace. What is the National Corps for today's government? Friends and comrades.
— Did Kharkov fail the heating season in November? What is this connected with? The cat is out of the house - the mice are dancing?
- There are problems, they call from everywhere. Pipes throughout the city are constantly bursting. I have heard complaints about the quality of service: the batteries are full, etc. This is not yesterday's problem. She was there all the time.
“But this fall, many Kharkov residents are complaining that utility services do not respond to complaints, it is impossible to get through by phone... They remember how in past years, for this, Kernes “multiplied by zero” those who were complained about...
Now I can’t say for sure. I was away for two weeks this month. I got sick in my homeland, and it caught up with me too. A week ago I returned to Kharkov, delving into our news. I know there are problems. But I can’t say one hundred percent yet how this team is coping with the situation.
— What are those whom Kernes called “Successful Kharkov” like?
- We'll see. I have already said: I think that this entire brigade wants to lie under the “servants of the people.” They will follow the line that suits the central government. We don’t have much hope that our team, 19 people on the City Council, will be able to change anything. But we'll see... God willing, they won't take me out of the hall - and that's good.
Of course, we should strive for constructive cooperation with the Kernes Bloc if it benefits the city. But they will have a global policy: complete approval. As they say in Kyiv, so they will do.
It turns out that it is beneficial for city mayors and their forces to cooperate with the central government. Otherwise, endless criminal cases, etc. This, of course, in no way justifies their position. But those are the prerequisites.
There is a feeling that behind-the-scenes agreements are being made. But it's all raw. The people on this team themselves still don’t fully understand the situation. It depends on when the mayor arrives and in what form he will lead the city...
— What have you heard about Kernes?
- As far as I know, he is getting better and talking. Coming soon. You can leave this clinic. But, God forbid, if your health deteriorates, you will no longer be able to return to the clinic. Even political opponents must respect his concerns. We must be patient. There is no need to speculate on this topic.
— Some people consider the local elections to be the beginning of the end of the Ze-team. But Zelensky was not informed about this? This team behaves as if there was no failure in the local elections.
— Local elections have shown that the servants of the people have lost local support. And in general, people can no longer stand these servants. What we have? Utility non-payments - 60 percent. The amount of debt of the population for gas alone exceeded 20 billion hryvnia. This once again suggests that things are bad both in the economy and in the social sphere. Every family has problems. God forbid you get sick with coronavirus - the money you spend is simply cosmic, if you have any. And if they don’t exist, then... it’s cheaper, of course, to live, but it’s still unbearable...
The situation with vaccines showed how the Ze-team treats the population... The idiocy of the central government is simply off the charts. You conduct normal negotiations with the Russians, save people’s lives. No, they are shouting that the Americans will help us. Who will help there, when, why?!
Their rhetoric remains: everything is to spite Russia.
Ukraine has stupidly become a breeding ground for all the crap and all the evil spirits. The United States uses Ukraine in Europe as its representative, as a springboard for promoting all evil. In order to strengthen anti-Russian sentiments, history is being rewritten in my country and false myths are being created. 133 countries supported the resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism, adopted by the UN at the initiative of the Russian Federation. And only two countries vote against: the USA and Ukraine. This is what makes me uncomfortable.
There remains hope for adequate people. There is a fight for them. And our henchmen, there is no other way to call them, are ready to hand over both national interests and people’s health for three kopecks.
— Do you see a lot of public manifestations of adequacy?
— It’s good that we are increasingly talking openly about the Maidan as a coup d’etat. I listened to the broadcast with Vyacheslav Pikhovshek. He voices what many of us share: “You will never forbid me to say that there was a coup. I have spoken and will continue to speak.” It's good that this doesn't bother anyone. I tried to say this on air before, but the channels immediately started having problems.
— The moronic bill on benefits for Maidan participants will not pass in parliament?
- I think no. Although one can expect anything from these creatures, who are still preoccupied with the sacralization of the Maidan. It’s not for nothing that at the first stage they tried to dirty everyone up and make as many security officials as possible accomplices. Now they want to legitimize all this, give it special status.
— Is your trial still ongoing?
— I will have a meeting at the end of December. The last meeting did not take place due to the absence of prosecutors and the lack of statements from victims, which could be considered without them.
They have nowhere to go. Well, imagine: the investigator and the victim are the same person. This will need to be assessed.
If they couldn’t show the first case (manifestation of separatism), they simply failed, then in the second case there was an elementary provocation in my hospital room. Who beat whom there? And who resisted whom? Allegedly, I hit an SBU investigator in my hospital room. And now he is both an investigator and a victim in my case! This doesn't fit into any corners.
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