Since finishing in third place in the 2010 presidential election, Sergiy Tigipko has cast his lot – and that of his Strong Ukraine party – with the ruling pro-presidential Party of Regions.
On Oct. 22, Sergiy Tigipko will cease to be an independent politician. This is the date when the deputy prime minister will join the ruling Party of Regions to form what he calls a “liberal wing” of this motley crew of oligarchs, Soviet-style bureaucrats, populist politicians and various hangers-on.
Tigipko has for 18 months been the only high-ranking official who is not part of President Viktor Yanukovych’s party. He joined the government after placing third in the race for president in 2010 with 13 percent of support.
But as his ratings have fallen amid public anger at new tax and pension legislation, the mild-mannered 51-year-old has decided to abandon his Strong Ukraine party and throw in his lot with the party that has come to dominate the country’s politics.
He believes that this is the best way to achieve his liberal economic goals, he told the Kyiv Post in an interview in his office at the Ministry of Social Policy on Oct. 4.
“The Party of Regions … started real reform,” Tigipko said. “This is my obsession: the pension reform and all the others. This is my main political focus, and nothing that happens around is going to make me lose this focus.”
Tigipko, a former central bank chief, has become the government’s leading proponent of tough overhauls to strengthen the country’s finances, including pension changes that raised the retirement age and a new tax code that critics say burdened small businesses.
Just this month, he bluntly warned that Ukraine needed more austerity measures to kick-start lending from the International Monetary Fund as a new economic crisis approaches.
These demands for tough measures have left him with support in the low single digits, according to recent polls.
But Tigipko said he has no regrets.
Together with Andriy Portnov, an adviser in the presidential administration, Tigipko prepared a draft law that would decriminalize many economic crimes, removing a lever of pressure often used by bureaucrats.
“OK, I have lost out. But I have conducted a pension reform, together with colleagues I have pulled through the tax code, we have taken a whole series of decisions on deregulation,” he said.
During the 90-minute interview, Tigipko’s emotions ranged from aggressive to defensive in standing up for his positions and decisions, giving rapid-fire answers to dozens of questions.
At other times, he radiated warmth and pride for his achievements in power. He also promised more, saying the public hasn’t seen anything yet.
He said the whole point of joining the Party of Regions is to achieve these ambitions faster and more effectively with a president who is prepared to sign up to all these changes.
Lev Partskhaladze, a prominent businessman and leader of the Kyiv branch of Tigipko’s Strong Ukraine party, was one of the first people to support the party’s merger with Regions. He told Kyiv Post that he shares Tigipko’s motivation. “One cannot be happy in a poor country,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Sergiy Tigipko and Alexander Stoyan, a deputy from the Party of Regions, share a discussion at the opening of the Sixth Congress of the Trade Unions Federation of Ukraine on March 23 (UNIAN)
The decision to join the Party of Regions, however, has proved unpopular with many of his supporters, who saw him as an alternative to the trio that has dominated politics in recent years – Yanukovych, Yulia Tymsohenko and ex-President Viktor Yushchenko.
Tigipko said he is ready for casualties, such as the loss of his deputy party leader Kost Bondarenko, a political consultant who for the last several years has worked on building the party, which now has over 87,000 members. Tigipko himself said only 30 percent share Bondarenko’s sentiment.
Bondarenko said, however, that he saw some advantages for Tigipko in the move, as he would find more allies to defend him from criticism by the opposition and members of the pro-presidential majority.
He added that Tigipko could eventually become leader. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov “will not be there forever,” he said.
Tigipko said his goals are worth every sacrifice and the best way to achieve them is from the inside. He said he is working on dozens of draft laws that would help the economy and make life easier for business.
Together with Andriy Portnov, an adviser in the presidential administration, Tigipko prepared a draft law that would decriminalize many economic crimes, removing a lever of pressure often used by bureaucrats. Another law is supposed to help businesses come out of the shadows. Changes in the customs code are coming next, followed by the second phase pension reform, which will introduce private pension accounts.
Tigipko is also drafting a number of anti-crisis measures to help the nation cope with a new global economic downturn that is unfolding.
“I can no longer even say the crisis is not here,” he said.
The opposition will do a great job worrying about democracy. I think it’s primarily their task.
– Sergiy Tigipko
He sees the early warning signs: the loss of long-term export contracts in the metallurgy and machine-building sectors, the loss of investor interest in government securities and the difficulty in borrowing on international markets.
Tigipko said that to withstand the crisis, the government will have to move in two directions: stimulate internal consumption and exports, as well as diversify exports.
To achieve the former, Tigipko is working on a law for the building industry that would simplify the procedure for acquisition of land and permissions to build on it.
At the same time, he is drafting an ambitious package for the information technology industry, in the hope of bringing in an extra $400-$500 million in investment per year and making the sector a top national exporter.
“I will find a way to push all this through,” he promised.
He is also talking to the IMF, whose new mission is expected to arrive to Ukraine at the end of this month to decide on a badly-needed new tranche from a $15.6 billion loan program.
But to get it, Ukraine would have to either up the price of utilities for the population by 30 to 50 percent, or persuade Russia to give Ukraine a huge discount on gas. Tigipko hopes for the second option.
Strictly speaking, the economy is not a part of his job description.
As deputy prime minister on social issues, Tigipko, among other things, oversees government policies involving the nation’s 13 million citizens – 28 percent of the nation – who enjoy economic privileges.
Before the interview with the Kyiv Post, he had already spent hours negotiating with representatives of veterans of the Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan, who are at odds with the government over the loss of subsidies and privileges.
An aide to Tigipko said 14-hour working days are not uncommon. At 9 p.m. when the interview finished six more visitors were in line to meet with Tigipko.
Tigipko joins up with ruling party, saying he can push for changes more easily from within
He said he was concerned that a lot of this hard work will be wasted if the nation does not fix its judicial system.
“I am very unhappy with the judicial system of Ukraine today,” he confessed. “This is a scary problem because it means that there is no last station that would defend a human or an organization.”
His words echo many opinions in the West, where Ukraine’s judiciary has become a major concern in light of the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko, the nation’s opposition leader and two-time prime minister.
Tigipko said commenting on the process amounts to pressuring the judge. While his opinion echoes the president’s words, the truth is that the Party of Regions has been loudly trying to convince the public that Tymoshenko is guilty of abuse-of-office charges in the 2009 natural gas agreement she reached with Russia to end a three-week shutoff.
“The opposition will do a great job worrying about democracy,” Tigipko said. “I think it’s primarily their task.”
“Those in power have to analyze this criticism and conduct political reform that would change the system,” he said, adding that he is ready to help anyone in government willing to undertake the task.
But many critics say a flurry of promises rather than action has been the dominant theme so far. This year alone, 21 sectors have been identified by the Presidential Administration as “top priority.” Consequently, decisions are rushed through without much public debate.
Yet that does not stop Tigipko.
“Perhaps I am not as strong a politician as someone else,” Tigipko said. “But I think this is what politics is about: When you come to power, you are obliged to take decisions, including unpopular ones.”
Kyiv Post editor Katya Gorchinskaya can be reached at [email protected].
