There is a chance that the new Verkhovna Rada will be different. At least, the first sitting of the Parliament of Seventh Convocation started with the opposition’s demand to stick to the regulations, which seems to be an ordinary thing in the work of MPs. The opposition stated that, first, the Tabalovs have no right to be MPs, and, second, that Communists cannot form a parliamentary faction of their own. Let’s keep in mind that during the sessions of the preparatory group on organization of the first sitting of the Parliament, the opposition was standing for the need to finally implement individual voting of the MPs. But the situation should be told like it is.
First and foremost, one could indeed feel the “fresh air” in the new Parliament. The morning in the Verkhovna Rada started with keeping Fatherland MPs Oleksandr and Andrii Tabalov out of the parliament session hall. Who did this? One can easily guess that it was the Freedom Party, whose leader Oleh Tiahnybok had mentioned earlier that the places near the entrance given to them have an advantage: “To let the people in the Verkhovna Rada when the parliament behaves improperly.” In this case such possibility was used to keep two turncoats out. Now, where did those two come from?
They are father and son Tabalov, candidates from Fatherland on the quota from Arsenii Yatseniuk’s party Front of Changes. Oleksandr Tabalov (father) was elected to Parliament according to the United Opposition list (No. 49), and Andrii Tabalov (son) won in the district No. 99 in Kirovohrad. Fellow townsmen know Tabalovs well: they are big businessmen who own a number of agricultural complex enterprises, in particular, bakery plants. Tabalov Sr. heads a group of companies.
The opposition should be paid its due: they made a successful start. All three opposition forces were acting unanimously, defending the right to regulations. It seemed that after the Tabalovs were prevented from taking the oath, they could not become MPs. However, after the opening ceremony it was announced that 444 people’s deputies took the oath, except for Yevhen Marmazov who is on a sick leave. “I think we should not start from violating the Constitution. All journalists and MPs present saw that two MPs did not take the oath,” Vitalii Klitschko, the UDAR leader, was the first to state. His speech was met with applause. Arsenii Yatseniuk and Freedom member Oleh Makhnitsky expressed analogical stands. Regionnaires reacted in the same way. However, Mykhailo Chechetov was a parody with his statement: “If Fatherland faction has problems, those are your own problems. Sort it out, who delegated them and who is standing behind these people. These are not Verkhovna Rada’s problems.”
