Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky is keeping his post, but losing a lot of his authority as President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration consolidates power over municipal government in the capital city of 2.7 million people.
Chernovetsky formally appointed Oleksandr Popov as first deputy mayor of Kyiv on June 15, but Popov was forced on the mayor by the president and his government, led by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. Popov replaces Chernovetsky’s top assistant, Anatoliy Holubchenko, who will serve as one of eight deputy mayors.
Experts say that Popov is expected to take over most responsibilities for governing the city, relegating the unpopular and eccentric mayor to more of a figurehead.
Popov rose from mayor of the small town of Komsomolsk in Poltava Oblast from 1994 until 2007, when he became public housing minister and served as a Party of Regions member in parliament. After Azarov took control of the government earlier this year, Popov was appointed public housing minister.
Azaroz made it clear that Popov is supposed to clean house.
“Three months ago we asked Kyiv administration to solve many problems of the city. Some things did change for better, but it is not enough,” Azarov said. “First of all, Kyiv needs reforms. And that is why we appointed Popov, who has experience in public housing and the utilities sphere. He will reform the sphere in Kyiv and strengthen city administration.”
Yanukovych and Azarov have criticized Chernovetsky for corruption and poor management of the city, fueling rumors that the administration will look to replace him.
But Popov’s appointment is seen as a way to effectively sideline the mayor without going through the trickier process of removing the elected official or risking an early election.
“This was the only right thing to do for Party of Regions at the moment,” political analyst Vadym Karasyov said. “In order to replace Chernovetsky, they would need to initiate elections in Kyiv with almost no chance to win them. The ruling party simply does not have a candidate popular enough in Kyiv. So they had to get a deal with Chernovetsky. He keeps the post, but gives up mayoral positions in his administration and loses much of his power.”
The appointment is, however, fueling speculation about whether Chernovetsky will be removed soon.
“The deal does not mean Chernovetsky will stay for a long time,” political analyst Volodymyr Kornilov said. “This is a rather temporary decision of the government and the conflict remains. Now everything depends on Chernovetsky — how much ‘help’ to the Party of Regions will he give and how much loyalty will he show to the government?”
Kornilov noted that the Azarov government can initiate city elections in autumn, along with national local elections. Or the government can initiate amendments to the law, which would deprive Chernovetsky of most of his duties.
However, in the face of strong opposition, a plan to strip Kyivans of their right to elect the mayor has apparently been dropped.
Popov might be the Party of Regions’ choice to run for Kyiv mayor in the next scheduled election in 2012. But he will have to prove himself. “He will have to grow a lot,” Kornilov said. “Being mayor of a small town is one thing, managing a megalopolis is another. Also Popov is hardly known by the Kyivans yet and has very little experience in public politics.”
Most political analysts and government insiders are expecting more changes.
The most criticized municipal official is perhaps Denys Bass, who is in charge of city roads, traffic, constructions and investments. Most projects managed by Bass have experienced major delays, including construction of subway stations, reconstruction of a city speed tram, the repair of Moskovska Square and the construction of Podillsko-Voskresenskyi Bridge.
Kyivans seem to want change.
According to the polls, conducted by the Institute of Politics in March, 91.3 percent of Kyivans do not support the Chernovetsky, who was elected Kyiv mayor in 2006. The ancient capital is stagnating also, with outdated infrastructure to poor housing. A traffic crisis is also looming in Kyiv, with current city managers failing to repair disastrous roads and meet the demands of a growing number of motorists. Poor public transport system remains a challenge as well.
Among major challenges is cleaning up land sphere in the capital with its current non-transparent process of renting parcels in Kyiv. Corruption on all levels of the city administration is another issue.
Modernization will also be costly and it is not clear where financing will come from. With a city budget of Hr 14 billion ($1.8 billion) in 2010, Kyiv has a debt of Hr 7 billion and is about to take another loan of Hr 2 billion to pay the bills of communal utility companies Kyivenergo and Kyivvodokanal.
Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at [email protected].
