CANDIDATE PROFILE: Roman Sliusarchuk, Social Democratic Party (03/15/98)

CANDIDATE PROFILE: Roman Sliusarchuk, Social Democratic Party

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Roman Sliusarchuk chose to become a member of the Social Democratic Party (United) for two reasons: personalities and ideology.

He believes the party represents the best political ideas of Western Europe and has the right mix of established political leadership to lift Ukraine out of its political and economic morass. Mr. Sliusarchuk pointed out that the social democratic ideology is the "leading political ideology of Western Europe." He added, "It is, in my opinion, the most realistic option for Ukraine today. It is the movement that has the best prospects for political and economic development."

He noted that the party has drawn into its fold such noted politicians as former President Leonid Kravchuk, National Deputy Yevhen Marchuk, who formerly headed the Security Service of Ukraine, as well as businessman Hryhorii Surkis, the owner of the popular Dynamo Soccer Club, and Viktor Medvechuk, the president of the Union of Lawyers of Ukraine.

Mr. Sliusarchuk explained that in today's political world in Ukraine, where so many parties, ideologies and personalities have emerged, the electorate needs to see established, known politicians in a political party on which they can depend. "In Ukraine, personality politics oriented on the individual play a big role," said Mr. Sliusarchuk.

Today, at the tender of age of 25 and a political unknown, Mr. Sliusarchuk is the Social Democratic Party candidate in the 221st electoral district of the city of Kyiv, and will try to win a seat on the coattails of his better known colleagues in the March 29 Verkhovna Rada elections.

Once a Rukh supporter and an aide to Verkhovna Rada National Deputy Heorhii Manchulenko he joined the Socialist Democratic Party only recently.

Mr. Sliusarchuk appears to be a team player through and through, as he repeatedly explained that his main priority, if elected, would be to implement the platform that his party has established.

That platform, however, is barely discernible from the programs of the other dozen or so centrist parties of Ukraine. They all call for upholding the Constitution, entrenching Western-style rule of law, moving ahead with privatization and structural reforms in the economy, stimulating economic development and investment, and bringing the gray economy out of the shadows, as well as maintaining a strong social safety net for the old, the unemployed, the sick and the disadvantaged.

Mr. Sliusarchuk said that social democracy, battle-tested in Western Europe for the last half century, also offers "a compromise between the worker, labor and capital," a defining ingredient for political success in Ukraine with its past Communist experience.

But Mr. Sliusarchuk also believes that the Social Democrats are sufficiently broad-based and inclusive in their appeal and programs to unite the country, which has fragmented geographically as regional interests have taken sway over central policies. "Here, where there are such differences between eastern Ukraine, western Ukraine, the central part and the south, the Social Democrats are the only ones who could unite these regions into one fist, a single, united Ukraine." said Mr. Sliusarchuk.

He added that he thinks the upcoming elections are a critical juncture for the country and that the people must finally decide Ukraine's political direction. But that choice, according to Mr. Sliusarchuk, is not between East and West, as has been portrayed in the domestic and international press, but an internal choice. He said that the political tools that politicians use to reach the same ends vary, and in the upcoming elections the Ukrainian voter must decide which instruments he wants his representatives to use.

He cited the problem with Ukraine's shadow economy, which has been estimated to involve almost half of Ukraine's GDP. "If you look at the economy, many politicians, including Yevhen Marchuk, say that money must be squeezed out of the shadow economy," said Mr. Sliusarchuk. "There is a small internal choice that must be made here; how will that money be squeezed out?"

He explained that there are two choices: the "intellectual, legal method and the method of force." Although most agree today that it must be done above board and legally, he said, for the most part little beyond rhetoric is occurring and what little is done is achieved through forceful measures. He cited the procedures of tax inspectors who pay daily visits to businesses demanding either bribes or the immediate payment of usurious taxes.

The young politician, who was a member of the Student Union of Ukraine and took part in the hunger strikes of 1990, believes that Ukraine's youth must take the lead in forming a new Ukraine, which he said was a primary reason he decided to run for the Verkhovna Rada at his young age. "I believe that the youth must become more active in the democratic process in Ukraine. The situation is such that it needs grass-roots changes in politics and the economy, as well as on the legal landscape," explained Mr. Sliusarchuk.

He said that a second equally serious problem is the fragmentation among democratic forces. In his opinion the centrist and center right parties have forgotten the source of the political threat. He said that while in-fighting occurs in the ranks of the political center and right, the Socialists and Communists, with a more united front, could easily achieve a landslide.

But Mr. Sliusarchuk said he believes the Social-Democratic Party will make its mark in the elections. "We fear no one. We are sure that our ideology is the strongest."

For him, the Social Democratic Party is the guiding light. "My basic position, more exactly the power behind my positions, lies in the fact that I am not alone in my attempt to be elected," explained Mr. Sliusarchuk. "Behind me stands a party that, with victory, will take upon itself collective responsibility for the situation in the country."