Single candidates do not unite opposition
Head of the single candidate's team-2010 Syarhei Kalyakin has claimed that he worked for a candidate he did not support.
The opposition agrees that it is necessary to chose a single candidate for the election-2015 and that it should be done right now. However, they should be careful, Syarhei Kalyakin warns.
Syarhei Kalyakin: “They should decide what kind of a candidate they need, what political goals he should have, what his policy will be and whether he would like to win or not."
The head of "Fair World" explains his caution by previous mistakes.
Syarhei Kalyakin: “We have experience... We worked for a candidate whose political views we did not support. In 2006..."
It is an interesting confession because Kalyakin was the head of Alyaksandr Milinkevich's election team in 2006. He was in charge of the election campaign for a candidate whose political views he could not support! How did the candidate feel about it? It was difficult, Alyaksandr Milinkevich confessed.
Alyaksandr Milinkevich: “Some communists said: 'We cannot agitate for Milinkevich - our ideological positions are totally different.'"
He was going to make Vintsuk Vyachorka head of his team at first. But he chose his political opponent - it was necessary "to strengthen the coalition". Syarhei Kalyakin was one of the people who could become single candidate but he had lost. It was necessary to make him part of the team. It is clear that Alyaksandr Milinkevich did not reach his goal. And the left were not the only force that did not let Milikevich feel the support of the united opposition – "there were groups disappointed by the fact that their candidate had lost – therefore they were not very active."
UCP leader Anatol Lyavedzka was Milinkevich's rival. He was put in charge of the National Committee - the candidate's shadow government - "to strengthen the coalition". Lyabedzka says that he spared no effort working for Milinkevich and "did not miss a single day". But he cannot say the same about all his colleagues.
Anatol Lyabedzka: “Some people can agree to everything and keep nodding but you know that it does not guarantee that everything will be done the way you need."
Uladzimir Hancharyk, single candiadte-2001, recalls that there were people in the team who refused to work for the single candidate from the start.
Uladzimir Hancharyk: “Some people did their job and others pretended to be working. Still others flatly refused to work."
And it was explained by.. personal grudge!
Uladzimir Hancharyk: “They came and demanded: 'Give us these positions in the election team or we will not work!' And they did not work!"
Hancharyk did not want "to strengthen the coalition" that way and received the same that Milinkevich did - the opponents did not support him.
Milinkevich has advised the future candidate to gather like-minded people in his team - political experts and organizers. Choosing a single candidate does not make the opposition united.
Photo by: Zmitser Lukashuk, Euroradio, http://www.svaboda.by/
