"Imitation of the election campaign": whether there will be a debate between Zelensky and Poroshenko

Ukrainian presidential candidate Vladimir Zelensky said he was ready for a debate with his rival Petro Poroshenko. However, the showman put forward a condition: the controversy should take place not in a television studio, but in the largest stadium in Kiev - the Olympic.

“I appeal to Petro Poroshenko. You call me to the debate, dreamed that I would run away, froze, hide, no. I am not you in 2014. I accept the challenge, ”RIA Novosti quotes the statement of Zelensky.

The showman demanded that the debate be held "in front of the people of Ukraine" and all the country's TV channels were allowed to broadcast.

“As a sign of respect for a third, at least one third of Ukrainian citizens, you should publicly say that the debate will not be held with the Kremlin puppet or (oligarch Igor) Kolomoisky, not with a padded jacket, not with Little Russia, not with cattle, not with a clown, but with the presidential candidate of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. I give you 24 hours, ”Zelensky finished his appeal, adding finally that before the discussion, both candidates must undergo a medical examination for the presence of alcohol or drugs in the blood.

According to the source RT in the party “Petro Poroshenko’s Block”, the statement of Vladimir Zelensky is “another game by Igor Kolomoisky who wants to humiliate Poroshenko” with the help of his “protégé”.

“The law“ On elections ”says that debates are held live on the last Friday before the elections, at 7 o'clock in the evening. Their implementation is paid from the state budget. Zelensky proposes to arrange a show that has not even been coordinated with the Olympic Stadium. I think he should arrange his own show there, and not give ultimatums to the current president of the country. Poroshenko will not go to any "Olympic", he agrees to meet with Zelensky in the studio, as provided by law, "- said the source RT.

At the same time, an official reaction to the Zelensky proposal from Poroshenko’s headquarters has not yet been received.

The situation with the participation of Zelensky in the debate is developing rapidly. On the morning of April 3, his headquarters made a statement about the possible participation of a candidate in the debate only if the current head of state, Petro Poroshenko, fulfills eight requirements put forward by supporters of his opponent. The corresponding statement was posted on the official page of the “Team of Zelensky” on Facebook.

In particular, Poroshenko is demanded to adopt a law on the abolition of the declaration of income and expenses for public activists and the recall of his draft law on criminal liability for illegal enrichment. Instead, the Zelensky team is demanding support for a similar bill drafted with the participation of foreign experts.

Also, the Zelensky team demands that the current president of Ukraine deprive the security forces of their authority in the fight against economic crime, stop putting pressure on entrepreneurs, restart the work of the National Anti-Corruption Agency and “launch” the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court.

The current president of Ukraine should also adopt a law on electoral reform, which will introduce a proportional system with open voting lists.

The last in the list of requirements for Poroshenko is to publish "a list of their offshore companies, banks in which these companies have accounts, as well as the financial statements of these companies over the past five years."

Shortly after the publication, the answer to it was given by the first deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Irina Gerashchenko, who in this election supports Petro Poroshenko. According to her, the requirements put forward by the headquarters of the showman are unfair.

“I will remind the Ze team (since Ze is a candidate at concerts) —the amendments to the laws are passed by BP, not the president. President Poroshenko even a year ago submitted to parliament as an urgent bill on the abolition of e-declaration for activists, ”wrote Gerashchenko in his Facebook.

However, she did not comment on the other requirements of the “Zelensky Team”.

"Unrealistic requirements"

Vladimir Zelensky Petro Poroshenko put forward "unrealistic demands," said a RT source in Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna party.

“In three weeks, they simply cannot be completed, given the practically non-working Rada. All these requirements to the president and the government have repeatedly made economists. Therefore, this entire list is nothing more than a reminder to the electorate that Poroshenko could have done and did not do it, ”said the deputy.

• The first round of elections in Ukraine was March 31
• Reuters
• © Kacper Pempel

In turn, the interlocutor of RT from the party of Arseniy Yatsenyuk "Popular Front" called the list of requirements of the "Zelensky Team" a "literate PR move."

“Zelensky actually demands excuses from the president. It directly shows where the corruption component is laid, as in the “Rotterdam +” scheme. I think Poroshenko will ignore this list and lose some of his voters, ”said a RT source.

“Rotterdam +” is a formula for calculating the price of coal for electricity generation, based on the quotations of the ARA coal hub (Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp), with value-added delivery to Ukrainian ports.

With the help of this European index, wholesale electricity prices are set in Ukraine.

A whole series of Ukrainian media claims that Rotterdam + is a corruption scheme for overcharging coal, which enriches Petro Poroshenko and the Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov.

The RT source in the Petro Poroshenko Bloc party believes that the publication of the requirements is Vladimir Zelensky and his “sponsor”, which, according to the RT interlocutor, is the Ukrainian billionaire Igor Kolomoisky, mocking Petro Poroshenko.

“With the same success it would be possible to require Poroshenko to build housing on Mars, or in three weeks to repair all the roads in the country. It takes years to implement all these changes, it is necessary to calculate their effect, and not to act hysterically. But how could Zelensky know this? For now, he is only giving out promises that cannot be fulfilled, ”the source said.

Tactical retreat

According to experts, the publication of Zelensky’s demands is an attempt to get away from direct debates with Poroshenko and transfer the fight to the “absentee” plane. The political system of Ukraine provides for direct debates between candidates before the second round of presidential elections, but they are not mandatory.

Representatives of Zelensky said they did not see the point in holding a direct televised debate with the current president.

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“The question is: what is the debate going on about? About the fact that a man for five years was at the highest post of the country and could prove everything and explain with his deeds? If you have a five year plan, why didn't you do it then? I do not see just the sense to start these, sorry for the rude word, dog fights, when people make a talk show, and not a discussion or exchange of views on programs, ”said Ruslan Ryaboshapka, Zelensky’s adviser, on the air of Gromadske TV.

According to him, Zelensky headquarters does not see the point in discussing his program or members of the team with Poroshenko.

“Now Zelensky for Ukrainians is associated with hopes for the best, and this image cannot be touched until April 21. Therefore, the Zelensky team will insist on fulfilling the conditions that it is impossible to fulfill even with good will, ”a source at the Kiev International Institute of Sociology told RT.

This opinion is shared by the RT source in the presidential administration of Ukraine, noting that "they very much want to call Zelensky to the debate."

“Petro Poroshenko is an experienced politician and will be able to turn the tide in his favor. But the Zelensky team avoids us in every way. They really do not want any debate, ”said the channel interlocutor.

But by the evening of April 3, the situation radically changed. Now Zelensky is calling Poroshenko to the "ring", but again sets conditions, and, as experts note, using "derogatory language". At the same time, a number of experts believe that in open battle Zelensky will have an advantage over his opponent.

“At the stadium“ Olympic ”Poroshenko will not be able to use the microphone located in the ear. Open debate gives an advantage to Zelensky, who has a quick response. In addition, Zelensky takes into account the fact that Poroshenko is afraid of open areas, ”political analyst Oleg Soskin said in an interview with RT, former adviser to the president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma.

Without independence

The second round of presidential elections in Ukraine should be held in three weeks - April 21. The idea to hold a television debate in front of him belonged to the headquarters of Petro Poroshenko. At the same time, his opponent, Vladimir Zelensky, was repeatedly criticized for refusing to participate in debates or direct television broadcasts. So, on the eve of the first round of elections, the showman only once took part in a direct telecast - on the channel “1 + 1”, owned by Kolomoisky.

• Billionaire Igor Kolomoisky
• Reuters
• © Valentyn Ogirenko

Now Zelensky decided to seize the initiative. At the same time, according to experts, in reality he was counting on Poroshenko’s refusal because of the conditions put forward by his team to the current president of Ukraine.

“Zelensky puts his adversary in a difficult position with his address. One type of Poroshenko begins to annoy Ukrainians, and Zelensky loves the public. Zelensky hoped that Poroshenko would not agree to his terms and refuse to participate in the debates, which in the end is likely to happen, ”Oleg Soskin is sure.

In turn, Rostislav Ischenko, President of the Ukrainian Center for System Analysis and Forecasting, noted that to fulfill his demands, Zelensky does not have to appeal to Poroshenko - it’s enough to wait three weeks and win in the second round. In addition, according to the expert, Zelensky’s statement should not be regarded as an attempt to appeal to the youth electorate.

“No one can predict in advance which category of voters will respond to his statements. Election commissions are fighting among themselves. All appeals to the audience - an imitation of the election campaign. If the elections were fair, Poroshenko would not have made it to the second round, ”concluded Rostislav Ischenko.