Asked when, how and why a highly successful athlete decided to plunge into a highly murky political water, Vitalii Klychko says bluntly that the two fields are inseparably linked with each other: “To come out onto the ring and represent a country is politics. To bring businessmen and investors to Ukraine is politics.” It should be noted that when Vitalii was answering The Day ’s questions, he was by turns emotional, cool, serious, ironical, critical, and loyal to politics as such. But one thing is obvious: the city mayoral candidate avoids naming the concrete names of politicians in a negative context, perhaps being aware that politics is an art of the possible and the one who is your rabid opponent today may be your ally tomorrow and vice versa. Yet it is not ruled out that this position in fact just shows that there is no such thing as political culture in today’s Ukraine. Klychko told The Day what he would do if he loses the battle for the mayoral title and what he will start his work with if he wins the bout. Incidentally, the number of those who want to vie for the office of Kyiv mayor has reached an all-time high of more than one hundred.
Vitalii, what is your reaction to the statement of Yulia Tymoshenko who thinks that you should stand down in favor of the BYuT candidate?
“As of today, Vitalii Klychko enjoys tremendous support of the Kyivans, and I want to and I am sure I will come up to their expectations, for they believe in me and in my ability to change the situation in Kyiv. I am not going to stand down under any circumstances.”
In other words, unlike Ms. Tymoshenko, you believe public opinion polls?
“I not only believe the polls, I rub shoulders with candidates and don’t see a realistic BYuT candidate for whom one could cast their vote.”
Now the number of mayoral candidates is over one hundred. What do you think caused this record activity — maybe, the simple procedure of nomination, when in principle everybody can get registered?
“I think it is right, and it is the right of every person to get nominated for the office of mayor. In my opinion, the rights of our citizens should not be restricted. But the trouble is that a host of contenders are running for office today in order to disorientate the voter. Moreover, most of the candidates who are laying claim to the office of mayor are the puppets of Mr. Chernovetsky. The goal is clear: to scatter the public votes.”
But there are over a hundred candidates, and you still see only one rival — Chernovetsky?
“Yes, there are two real candidates today: Klychko and Chernovetsky. This is the result of the opinion polls which I trust. I do so because there are independent agencies that do not sell themselves out, keep their name and reputation in esteem, and always draw an unbiased picture. And all the politicians who are interested in these surveys know the real situation in Kyiv.”
But still, Vitalii, what is the price of the question of a single candidate? Why did you fail to strike a deal?
“The price of the question of a single candidate is that very many political forces are exclusively looking on Kyiv as a proving ground for their ambitions. They regard Kyiv as a steppingstone for the well-known further political events (presidential elections — Ed.) but they do not see Kyiv as a city for Kyivans. It is therefore very difficult for representatives of various political forces to sit down at the same negotiating table and, moreover, to come to a common denominator because they have their own narrow political goals and tasks.”
Who did you negotiate with?
“I negotiated with all the key persons of democratic parties.”
Who? Tymoshenko? Lutsenko? Kyrylenko?
“You can go on enumerating and surely will not be mistaken.” (laughs)
The whole Kyiv is studded with advert boards that bear your portrait and say that Kyiv needs a strong mayor. Taking into account that the capital has an ironclad land coalition that consists of the representatives of diverse political forces, it is difficult not to accept this statement. But the question is how a mayor can be strong in combating the land corruption in Kyiv because the councilors can dismiss this mayor, too, by a simple majority of 226 votes?
“Once we put these problems into a public plane, we will immediately solve this problem, but if the mayor plays an under-carpet game, giving more to one and less to another, he is just satisfying the ambitions of, first, the Kyiv councilors, then Verkhovna Rada deputies, and then the key figures in the prosecution service, the courts, etc. So a strong mayor should work for the Kyivans instead of satisfying political demands. The current mayor is balancing, dishing out hundreds of hectares of land and all kinds of things that can be dished out in order to retain his office. I cannot say it is a strong tactic of the mayor and I do not think that people who closely watch political events can do the same even if he can do 15 pull-ups.”
What will be your first steps in combating corruption?
“Firstly, we should reverse the unlawful actions of the previous authorities. Secondly, we should be taking progressive anti-corruption steps. And, thirdly, we should work on the many problem spots which the map of Kyiv is studded with. City residents know only too well each of these spots because they see them every day. I mean the problems of public utilities, dirty house entrances and lifts, the 1960s run-down buildings which need to be torn down, the problem of traffic jams, etc. This is what the Kyiv authorities should do every second instead of dishing out favors in order to retain the steering wheel and continue to shamelessly sell out the metropolitan land.
“Please tell me why the average price of a square meter in Kyiv is twice the average square meter price in, say, Berlin? In this country, one has to bribe an official to get permission to build. To collect about 600 signatures, the builder has to pay money for each ‘autograph.’ I will say in no uncertain terms that this two- fold margin consists of the bribes which enable the builder to derive at least a minimal profit.”
At what moment did Vitalii Klychko opt for politics?
“And what is politics? Politics is, by all accounts, human relations. We have been in politics for a long time. For when you go abroad and achieve certain sporting results there, it is politics. When you bring businessmen and investors to the city of Kyiv, it is politics. When you represent Kyiv and Ukraine on the world arena, it is politics. I live in this city and I am not indifferent to the ongoing processes. When I visit Berlin, Hamburg or Los Angeles, and then come back to Kyiv, I ask myself, ‘Why are the elementary things that work in any of these cities not working here at home?’”
I remember you climbing the ring with an orange band when the Orange Revolution was in full swing. Do you regret this now, four years later?
“I never regret anything. All I can say in this connection is that it was necessary to go down a different road, the road of reforms. It is too bad that the new government failed to walk down this main road to the end and thus lost many opportunities that opened up to Ukraine. It is too bad that the ideas, aspirations and demands of the popular movement were not implemented. Many people were disappointed. I am also partially disappointed that the potential that Ukraine had was not fully tapped. But, getting back to your question, I will say that I do not regret at all that I used the ring as a podium for expressing my civic stand.”
And what is the Maidan for Vitaly Klychko?
“We were then building a democratic society, and we are still doing so. The Maidan is an expression of the will of thousands, tens of thousands, millions of people who took to the streets and openly declared their wishes and their choice. The Maidan has been our greatest achievement in the past few years. Maybe, the Maidan expectations have not been 100 percent fulfilled, but I think we will have more than once to reconsider those events and give them an impartial, not emotional, assessment.”
Is the office of mayor the peak of your political ambitions?
“I don’t have any higher-than-sky political ambitions. All I know is that Kyiv is the heart of Ukraine and all the reforms that can and must be carried out across the entire Ukraine should begin in the center, in the capital. I have never thought of the essence of the question you asked. I’ve set myself only one goal: to make the city where I live and which I love a comfortable place for my friends, my family, and all the Kyivans.”
How long will it take Vitaly Klychko to carry out crucial reforms in Kyiv?
“I believe every Kyivan will be able to see and feel changes within six to nine months. To tell the truth, the remedy for all the Kyiv problems is well known. The problem is that two years were not enough for the current administration to find the time and the desire to solve even the most painful city problems. How has the problem of cloverleaves been addressed in the past two years? Has at least one subway station been opened? Have any big park houses been built? All the current administration is doing is allow parking on the sidewalks crammed with motor vehicles. But is this the way to tackle problems?”
Euro-2012. Will we be able to use this chance or, by force of the never-ending local, parliamentary and soon presidential elections in which everybody is taking part, we are running the risk of losing it?
This is why, in spite of the upcoming presidential elections and other ever- growing political passions, the mayor of Kyiv should be apolitical and exclusively deal with city problems. He must deal with such schemes as Euro-2012. The president has twice decreed to tear down the Troitsky center. The decree has not been fulfilled, but just a week ago the mayor came over and they demonstratively sawed off a column in front of TV cameras — and that was the end of it. During just one council session, Mr. Dovhy dishes out over 2,000 hectares of recreational land (Zhukiv island, Trukhaniv island), where a lot of greenery will be destroyed, but yesterday, when the court was deliberating on the well-known Kyiv Council decisions of Oct.1, 2007, he was planting a tree inn front of TV cameras. Is not absurd?”
How will Vitalii Klychko begin his first working day if he wins or loses the elections?
“I will begin my working day the way I always do — with morning exercises. I come to the gym at 7 a.m. because there is a sound spirit in a sound body irrespective of the office you are holding. I must say in no uncertain terms that I was, am and will be going in for sport. Moreover, I am going to propagate a healthy way of life because this is the most important thing for each of us.”
