Klitschko campaigns as corruption fighter
Retired world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, 34, announced earlier this year that he would run in the Kyiv mayoral elections. Klitschko made his debut in Ukrainian politics late last year, accepting a top spot in the Pora-PRP parliamentary election bloc, a tandem of the youthful “yellow” Pora movement, which played a major role in the Orange Revolution, and the Reform & Order party, loyal to President Viktor Yushchenko.
In a Jan. 30 interview with the Post, Klitschko pledged, among other things, to help eradicate corruption from the halls of government. While new to Ukraine’s hardball political scene, Klitschko has within a short period of time materialized as a sleek, yet cautious politician full of promises. But he remains tight-lipped on providing details of his big political plans and alleged investments in Ukraine.
KP: What would be different between you and other candidates for the Kyiv mayoral seat?
VK: We offer transparency and accountability to Kyiv’s residents. It does not exist now. Are you or any other Kyiv residents acquainted with the general municipal plan, with the budget? Is there any accountability? All decisions now are being taken unilaterally. Later, Kyivans are presented with the results post facto.
KP: What would be your first steps as mayor?
VK: The first steps will be to eradicate corruption by raising transparency.
The next steps will be to solve the housing and communal problems, such as heating, improving street cleaning and transportation. All these problems are interconnected. There are about one million vehicles in Kyiv, including transit traffic. The lack of parking, for example, is connected to the construction boom, or problem.
There are construction projects in the historical parts of Kyiv, where office buildings with the capacity to hold over a thousand workers are being erected. There are parking lots being built under these buildings. One can only imagine how heavy the traffic is going to get, especially when considering that roads in older parts of Kyiv are narrow. Theoretically, construction of these types of buildings should not be allowed downtown.
KP: You have been saying that the main problem with city administration is a lack of transparency in allocating land plots for construction and the unfair issuance of construction permits. But how, specifically, are you going to solve these problems?
VK: This is a part of a bigger housing and communal problem. The high real estate prices are a part of it as well. How can it can be that prices are just as high as in Europe, when the average income (in Kyiv) is $300. This situation has been created artificially, caused by monopolies. A limited group of companies control the real estate market and are capable of obtaining construction permits.
KP: Are you going to get rid of such monopolies?
VK: I want the processes to be transparent so that any company that wants to work in the real estate market could take part in an open tender.
KP: Why do you think you will make a good mayor? What kind of relevant education or skills do you have?
VK: I will do everything to be a good mayor. It is very important to have a good professional team for that. There is an illusion in our society that one person can have thorough knowledge of everything. This is impossible. There should be a team of professionals with each responsible for a specific area. Most importantly, this team should consist of people who are not corrupt.
KP: Do you have such a team?
VK: I do. I am going to present this team in the near future.
KP: Are there people from the current city administration on your team?
VK: Yes. I think that there are professionals in the current city administration that will do their job professionally when new rules are clearly laid out.
KP: Who do you consider your main competition in the elections?
VK: I would say that my main opponent is corruption itself. (Pause) At the same time, I think that it is great that there are so many competitors for the Kyiv mayoral seat. Competition – be it in sports or politics – always brings out the best in everyone.
KP: You are simultaneously running for mayor and Parliament as the number one candidate on the Pora-PRP ticket. How long have you been living in Ukraine? Do you meet the requirements that oblige candidates for the legislature to have resided in Ukraine for a certain period of time prior to being accepted as a candidate?
VK: The Central Election Committee accepted my documents after examining them. I can say that before every boxing fight, [most of which were outside of Ukraine,] that I spent two months abroad for training. In 2005 I lived abroad for two months getting ready for a fight. In 2004 it was about four or five months. If the question is whether I lived in Ukraine, yes I did. Whether I live in Ukraine, yes I do.
KP: Which would you rather have, the mayoral post or a parliamentary seat?
VK: I would choose the mayoral post. I would really like to realize my strengths, my knowledge and get results in a short period of time. I think it is doable at the city level.
KP: How long do you think it would take for you to reorganize the city administration?
VK: It is hard to say now. There should be a complete inventory of all Kyiv city operations. Only after that will I be able to say how long it will take.
KP: You supported Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko during the 2004 elections and during the Orange Revolution. How do you evaluate his overall performance a year into his presidency?
VK: Much was done. Freedom of press is the biggest achievement. We are moving in the democratic direction. The investment climate has improved, as has social security provided by the state, but there is still a lot of problems. I do not want to point at all of them, as there are already more than enough critics. I want to look into the future and think positively.
KP: What is your long term vision of Ukraine? Are you more of a free market politician or a socialist in nature?
VK: I support the President’s strategy oriented toward democratic principles in business and politics, in addition to European Union integration.
KP: What businesses do you own in Ukraine?
VK: I do not have any business in Ukraine.
KP: Do you have any business plans?
VK: I think that politics and business should be separate, as they can lead to corruption when interconnected. Thus, I do not plan to develop a business, as I have made the decision to go into politics.
KP: Do you have permanent residency in the US or elsewhere?
VK: I have residence permits for the EU and US.
KP: How well do you speak Ukrainian? What is your stance on the language issue?
VK: (Turns briefly to Ukrainian) I can speak Ukrainian, but I still make a lot of mistakes because I did not spend a lot of time in an environment where I could learn it. If I was able to learn English and German in recent years, I do not think that it will be a problem for me to improve my Ukrainian.
KP: Should Russian be granted the status of an official language in addition to Ukrainian?
VK: I think that many politicians are manipulating the language issue to win votes [from Russian speaking voters]. We are Ukrainians. The identity of every country is its language. In France they speak French. In Spain they speak Spanish. In Great Britain they speak English. I think this question must be solved in a very tolerant manner, without forcing it. It is a matter of time, especially as a large part of Ukraine is Russian-speaking.
