Kyiv, December 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The ideology of the Ukrainian Social Democratic Party (USDP) will not change due to a reshuffle in the leadership of the party, the newly elected party leader, Natalia Korolevska, has said.
"I believe that now we can breathe new life into the principles of social democracy – justice, freedom and solidarity. I believe that we can regain people’s trust and belief in these principles," she said at a press conference after the party’s congress.
The party’s first deputy head, Yevhen Suslov, in turn, said that the democratic opposition would be strengthened owing to the party’s new leadership.
"We clearly state that we are doing nothing that can harm the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko… Our task is to collect the most votes in parliament at the elections in 2012 and release Yulia Tymoshenko," he said.
As reported, Korolevska was elected the leader of the Ukrainian Social Democratic Party on Friday, December 23, and, along with Suslov and Oleksiy Lohvynenko, left the Batkivschyna Party in connection with their transition to the USDP. The USDP is a part of the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko and the three deputies remain in the BYT-Batkivschyna faction in parliament.
