United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine
The United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine [short: VSDPU, sometimes short SDPU; Ukrainian Соціал-демократична партія України (об'єднана) , СДПУ (о) for short, SDPU (o)] is a social democratic political party in Ukraine . She has not been represented in the Ukrainian parliament since 2006.
history
The VSDPU was created in 1996 as an association of the Ukrainian Party of Justice , the party of human rights and the previous Social Democratic Party of Ukraine . It initially positioned itself as a centrist , social democratic-moderate force and supported closer ties to the EU. During this time the party had close ties to the administration of President Leonid Kuchma - whose head of cabinet Viktor Medvedschuk was in the party presidium from 1998.
In 1998 the Ukrainian Social Democratic Party (USDP) split off after internal disputes, which later belonged to the Yulia Tymoshenko bloc , but was excluded in 2012 and moved to Ukraine - Forward! renamed. In 2000 the VSDPU founded its own publishing house. At that time she was publishing several newspapers of her own. In the same year, Solidarnist, another faction under Petro Poroshenko, split off. In 2003 the party had just under 350,000 members.
It has come under increasing criticism, especially since the millennium, because powerful oligarchs exerted a great influence within the organization. The leading group of the party at that time consisted of representatives from eight influential companies. In the parliamentary elections in 2002, the party achieved 6.27%, a very bad result for them. At this point in time, the VSDPU advocated closer cooperation with Russia, which resulted in increased votes in Donbass and the Crimea . As part of this Russophile policy, she went on an opposition course to Viktor Yushchenko's coalition, especially after the Orange Revolution .
However, approval for the party continued to decline, although it made a name for itself in 2005 by organizing a collection of signatures for a referendum on joining NATO. This was sought by Yushchenko, while the VSDPU advocated joining the Eurasian Economic Community . In the parliamentary elections in 2006, the party joined the opposition alliance Ne Tak , which was able to unite only 1.01% of the valid votes. The VSDPU also did not win any seats in the 2007 parliamentary elections and is therefore increasingly politically insignificant. In 2009, the party participated in the bloc of left forces and supported the presidential candidacy of the communist Pyotr Simonenko . The participation was controversial within the party and resulted, among other things, in the resignation of the former President Kravchuk . The VSDPU has not competed in any election since then.
Political orientation and importance
The party sees itself in the tradition of social democracy and, after presenting itself, regards itself as its only legitimate representative in Ukraine. She advocates restricting the president's power, neutrality for Ukraine, a health system free of charge for patients and a social market economy. Other parties claim representation of the Social Democrats in Ukraine: the USDP as part of the Yulia Tymoshenko bloc, the Socialist Party of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Labor Party , which is part of the Blok Lytwyna alliance .
In the Socialist International, Ukraine continues to be represented by the SDPU despite its reduced importance.
Great personalities
- Viktor Medvedchuk , long-time chairman, also chairman of the Ukrainian Bar Association
- Leonid Kravchuk , former Ukrainian President , resigned in 2009 because of his participation in the leftist alliance
- Jewhen Martschuk , former Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Ukraine
- Valery Borsow , former sprinter
References
- ^ Andrew Wilson : Virtual Politics - Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World. Yale University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-300-09545-7 .
- ↑ Eberhard Schneider: The Political System of Ukraine. P. 116 f.
- ↑ Medvedchuk emerges from shadows on Jan. 27, 2005, kyivpost.com.
- ↑ Press release from RIA Novosti ( Memento from June 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ russland.RU of October 20, 2009: Ukraine: Left forces name presidential candidates ( memento of the original from December 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ nrcu.gov.ua ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Homepage of the SI
- ↑ nrcu.gov.ua ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
