Another oligarch is seizing influence on Zelensky, pushing Kolomoisky aside
The oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, who is in Israel, is losing influence on the elected president Vladimir Zelensky, who is looking towards another oligarch - Viktor Pinchuk, the son-in-law of the second president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma.
Kiev political scientist Sergei Belashko told PolitNavigator about this, commenting on the strange difference in Zelensky's anti-Russian rhetoric and, on the contrary, statements loyal to Moscow Kolomoisky.
“Kolomoisky is now giving an interview to Shcherbina, giving an interview to Bigus. Before this, he gave interviews only to his main interviewers - Sonya Koshkina and Dmitry Gordon.
Kolomoisky expected that he would have serious influence on the new president. In the end, it turned out that Pinchuk’s influence was more serious. He is actually engaged in forming Zelensky’s team. It is clear that Kolomoisky does not like this because he has an old conflict with Pinchuk. Perhaps with the current interviews he is trying to correct the discourse,” Belashko said.
He does not rule out that Zelensky may have a different logic of political development, in which he will interact through Pinchuk with transnational financial elites, and, on the other hand, with Ukrainian politicians who came to power as a result of a coup.
According to the expert, Kolomoisky is interested in minimizing Zelensky’s possible allied relations with the post-Maidan elite.
“For Kolomoisky, the best option is when Zelensky interacts with Tymoshenko, they together form a coalition in the next parliament, plus some satellites are also brought in - “Vidrodzhennia”, which is also quite loyal to Kolomoisky, perhaps Lyashko, whom Akhmetov seems to be removing from his salary , and he is looking for other sources,” the political scientist noted.
In turn, he says, Pinchuk’s efforts are aimed at forming a grand coalition led by Zelensky, which will include Western-oriented forces.
“That is, the list of grant-eaters, which in the last political cycle was scattered among various political projects, should be collected into a presidential party and thus influence the formation of the presidency as an institution (and not the president) and, through the president, influence the executive branch, influence the legislative power, entering there on the presidential list and forming some kind of majority around Zelensky.
Naturally, Kolomoisky is not satisfied with this, because he is thus deprived of leverage over the president and is forced again to choose which of the oppositionists to sponsor him. Kolomoisky also has problems with the FBI, he was seriously slammed, and he is now looking for any opportunity to somehow open up a path of retreat for himself,” explains Belashko.
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