Thursday, March 30, 2006

New mayor

DLW asks for some information about the mayor elect, Chernovitski. Here's what I know:
He calls himself orthodox which usually refers to the Orthodox Church but he referred the other day to his affiliation with a church called the Ambassadors of God. I don't know anything about that but he credits it with making him a new man. Not to take anything from that, but maybe the old man might have some relevancy here.

He says that God elected him but in the sense of a blessing not in the sense of any kind of divine mandate. "Did you think I would be elected? I didn't think so. But God did it." (paraphrase) I am quite sympathetic to that myself.

He is president of Praveks Bank. I don't know much about that bank but most of them started out as treasuries for big businesses. About that one, though, I don't know anything at all.

He is alleged to have said a day or two ago that he was going to fire a couple of reporters when he took office and that they wouldn't be able to work in Kiev. Looks like he was miffed at them for some reason. (The report of it is in one of the online Ukrainian news sites. I will link it when I remember it or find it again.)

He has been on various programs and was not really all that forthcoming in his answers. A bit evasive but that is the rule for most politicos here anyway. That is SOP for most politicos and elites here--way too many skeletons in that there closet. But that might just be a result of a lack of ability to do well on TV. (see below.)

He has pledged to help anyone needing it. That sounds nice and as it should be. We'll see what it means.

He doesn't come off all that well in public. As a matter of fact, he comes of not so good at all. When he had a press conference the other day, he kept fumbling for words and aides would feed them to him off camera. Don't know what that is all about. But other times he just comes across as someone hiding something or just plain shifty. Maybe he just has a bad TV presence. I guess we'll find out.

He complained that Yuschenko hasn't called him to congratulate him. "Even though he was behind Omelchenko, he could have at least called." Could have been a personal appeal. But that was when there were still votes to be counted and it made him sound a bit Alexander Hagueish. He needs to check in with his advisors, I think, before he speaks. But bank heads are rich men here and they usually don't have to bow to anyone so that might be a tough one for him.

But then again, he may be just the man he says he is. We'll see.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember the man's campaign leaflets for president. Mostly biographical information, but he also made the assertion that the godless have no business leading the country, or something like that. That's how I remembered it, anyway.

I also seem to remember being annoyed by the loud music played from his campaign bus near the 'Niva' market in Chernigov.

Nika said...

Actually, he claimed Yushchenko did call to congratulate him. At a press conference, the same day Klichko congratulated him, they gave him his cell phone and he spoke into it, smiling mysteriously, and then announced he had just received a call from Yushchenko. Yushchenko's advisor, Gerashchenko, denied it. He later said that no, the president did call him and Gerashchenko's lying because it's all politics, etc...

Anonymous said...

I remember that there were a number of protestors against the old mayor in Kiev on the streets. I take it he wasn't running again or that there were several candidates from different parties in the election and this guy rode the wave of positive support for Tymo? Is he part of BYUT?

dlw