CANDIDATE PROFILE: Mykola Danylin of the Socialist Party of Ukraine (03/29/98)

CANDIDATE PROFILE: Mykola Danylin of the Socialist Party of Ukraine

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Mykola Danylin believes that Ukraine must return to a modified version of the old central command economic system, although not necessarily to receive commands from Moscow, to create jobs and to give society some stability and security.

He is a founding member of the Socialist Party of Ukraine and a candidate for the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv's electoral district No. 216. He is also a capitalist, the director of the trading firm MKP Topaz.

Mr. Danylin sees no ideological conflict in promoting free enterprise while maintaining his political beliefs. In fact, he says his company, a distributor of Ternopil-produced cheese, does social good by delivering an inexpensive, home-grown product.

The 38-year-old former member of the Communist Party broke with its ranks in 1991. He said he was disillusioned with the number of party members who suddenly "disappeared into the shadows" and with those who began presenting an ideology quite different from the traditional red position. "I considered it betrayal," said Mr. Danylin. "I don't believe that what was done within the framework of the Soviet Union, especially with regard to the social welfare of the populace, was bad."

He said that as a result of several conversations with Oleksander Moroz, current leader of the Socialist Party and chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, he became convinced in 1992 that he could take up the red banner again as part of an opposition force. "After our conversation I agreed to be a founder [of the Socialist Party], as long as it would be an opposing force to the government in power, a government whose members were all former Communist Party members who had changed their viewpoint."

He said that today's leadership is of the same ilk and does not have the capability to make the needed changes. "I believe that principled change for the better cannot take place governing of a country when its leaders change their beliefs," explained Mr. Danylin. "I call these people weathervanes. They turn every time the wind blows."

Mr. Danylin absolutely does not consider himself a cast iron rooster twisting atop a farmhouse. The self-confident politician says consistency and steadfastness are traits needed in Ukrainian leaders and that he has just what it takes. "My ideas are consistent. Only steadfast leaders will bring Ukraine out of its crisis."

His political priorities are the creation of jobs and the economic revival of Ukraine, positions supported by every politician in this country, or at least those who hope to get elected.

But he also believes that a new hope must be instilled in Ukraine's citizens - a return of "national faith," as he called it.

He believes Ukraine's current leadership is much too tangled up in politics, and that the next Parliament must concentrate on the economy and must move Ukraine toward Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. "We had our market, the market of the whole Soviet Union," explained the Socialist candidate. "By today's standards as well as by yesterday's, this must be one of the basic directions of our economy. That is, we can send our products there, we can develop normal mutual economic relations with Belarus, Russia, Kazakstan."

Mr. Danylin would not go so far as to call for a renewal of the Soviet Union. He believes that an independent, sovereign Ukraine is a historical fact and that it should develop relations with its neighbors on that basis. "When I talk about mutual relations with Russia, with Belarus, I mean that we should develop relations strictly on an economic basis."

He said he would like to see economic union with the countries once part of the Soviet Union and explained that a good example to follow would be the European Community model. One day, perhaps, even borders could be decontrolled, he added.

He believes that his Socialist Party, which, according to pre-election surveys, is struggling to achieve the 4 percent of electoral support needed to gain party seats in the next Verkhovna Rada - is needed to give government leadership to the privatization and economic processes occurring in Ukraine today.

Although some privatization is necessary, according to Mr. Danylin, government control is essential over the financial dealings of many firms. He believes that too many directors of government-owned firms and businessmen who run partially privatized government enterprises are out to make a quick buck by stripping everything of value and leaving the enterprises bankrupt.

"If the directors of these firms, and I underscore state-owned firms, do not fulfill the assignments that the government will put on them, we will then have to discuss their removal," said Mr. Danylin.

The old ideas of strong government control over private initiative and economic cooperation within the CIS are once again the trend, he believes, and that all of today's major political parties advocate programs that the Socialists have been supporting for years. However, now they are again popular with the electorate, as well, Mr. Danylin said.

"There are no political parties not proposing what we proposed in 1994, and even in 1991. Today Rukh is for an economic union with Russia, it was for the signing of the treaty with Russia," explained Mr. Danylin. "Even the presidential forces are moving in that direction because they must confront reality in their election campaign so as not to lose the votes of the electorate."