According to sociological surveys, Ukrainians follow closely the events happening in the Verkhovna Rada and make their conclusions, not always flattering for MPs.
PR-manager of the Kyiv international institute of sociology Tetyana Pyaskovska reported that the results of the survey "Trust in the state structures", held on July 19-28, showed that Ukrainians follow the work of state bodies, parliament in particular, with 62% of respondents confirming their interest.
The level of trust, though, is not very high, making it 27% in total and 21% for the parliament.
ForUm has asked experts and MPs why people do not trust the parliament and how to change the situation:
Iryna Bekeshkina, sociologist, director of "Democratic initiatives" fund:
- Indeed, people give the current parliament 2 out of 5 points. There has never been such negative attitude to the authorities. There are plenty of reasons for this.
When people see empty session, they make conclusions. MPs must go to work, especially when they have such high salaries and numerous privileges. Various political talk shows also do not do any good, as people see how unprofessional MPs are. Besides, candidates also give plenty of promises before the elections, but when elected, forget to fulfill them. With each elections we move from one lie to another.
However, there is a question whether people are still capable to accept truth. There is a probability that if candidates tell the truth they won't be elected. People have been stuffed with "sweets" and now have bad teeth, which must be cured and this is a painful process.
Another good question is why people go to vote if they do not trust the parliament. It is a bias - closer to elections people mobilize and go to vote for "their people" so that "strangers" do not win.
What should be done to make the parliament trustworthy again? We should elect better parliament, should stop expecting pretty promises and stop voting "for our people", but support right people. MPs in turn should start fulfilling their promises, should go to work and vote in the session hall personally.
Oleksandr Chernenko, head of the Committee of voters of Ukraine:
- This crisis of trust has been created by the parliament itself. The system of closed party lists was one of the reasons, when 5-6 people gave free pass to all 450 MPs. This crisis can be overcome only if the parliament becomes normal platform for discussions. The mixed system and single-mandate constituencies can bring new all-sufficient people and can improve the quality of the parliament.
Oles Doniy, MP of Ukraine (Our Ukraine faction):
- I don't think people's trust in the parliament will be restored after the election. It is impossible for honest people to come in politics now. On one hand, political parties discredit themselves with the public; on the other hand, people are not ready to start self-purification.
Voters should elect honest professionals, not "their people". We need moral reformation of the society, but nobody dares to put this issue on the table. Without it, the quality of our politics will not improve.
Volodymyr Rybak, MP of Ukraine (Party of Regions):
- Trust in the parliament depends on political culture of legislative power and its representatives - MPs. Unfortunately, full and by this culture leaves much to be desired. The parliament has a lot of work to do. Candidates should run for parliament in order to secure their business or improve their image. Candidates should run for the sake of the country and its people.
Another factor is legitimacy of the parliament in the eyes of voters. It is a tradition for us to believe that every elections are forged and manipulated. But I want to remind that before this election campaign Ukraine took obligations before the Venice Commission. Europe will follow our elections very closely. Any violation, even the smallest, will be revealed and punished. In such a way, the coming election may become the most transparent elections for the whole period of Ukraine's independence. In its turn, it means the level of trust in the parliament will increase.
Ruslan Pavlenko, independent analyst:
- The problem of trust is not in this or that composition of the parliament and its factions. The problem is that for the whole period of independence the political forces have taught people not to trust regardless of "skin color". In this respect, I recall one of our presidents, who in 2000-01 years claimed that opposing Kuchma was like manifestation fascism. Later on, he became the symbol of the national idea, but it turned out he was supporting interests of Russian business in Ukraine and now he supports the current authorities. This is one of the examples how "responsible" and "ideological" our political forces are.
Even the left forces are far from being ideological. In pursuit of people's votes, they are ready to change the very basics of the idea. In fact, pre-election promises and slogans can change 180 degrees from one elections to another. This is not right. What political succession or trust are we talking about? Ukrainians are not stupid. They see who goes in politics and why. However, I must say that the level of political culture among the population is not high enough, and manipulative technologies still work on people.
