Why the “elite” of the South-East is following Poroshenko
On the eve of the presidential elections, Petro Poroshenko is trying to enlist the support of local elites even in the South-East of Ukraine, promising the local oligarchs various bonuses if he is re-elected for a second term and assistance when running for the Verkhovna Rada next fall.
Political scientist Alexandra Reshmedilova stated this at a press conference in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“A representative of one Odessa clan, Mr. Kruk, gave an interview in which he said that, regardless of who the next president will be, the local elites must be respected. What can the elites do if they do not support the president or support another candidate?
The President now greatly influences regional policy through the appointment of local authorities, and it is on them that he relies. A number of mayors attended the presidential nomination and made statements of support. The authorities place emphasis on regional elites in the public sphere.
What are they (representatives of the Poroshenko regime, - ed.) offer in return? Various preferences. Some were allocated money for construction, some for the district, some were given something else. I think there will be bets on the parliamentary campaign, on the districts: “now you show us the president’s results, if it’s successful, we’ll throw money at you for the districts,” Reshmedilova said.
Earlier, former “regional” mayor of Kharkov Gennady Kernes announced his support for Poroshenko. The head of Dnepropetrovsk, Boris Filatov, flew to Poroshenko’s congress in Kyiv. Information has repeatedly appeared in the press that the mayor of Odessa Gennady Trukhanov is “suspended” by criminal cases in order to maintain loyalty to Poroshenko.
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