Politicking Ukrainian Style
Here in Ukraine, where over 40 parties are registered in the upcoming election, it is common to see people wearing aprons or brightly colored t-shirts proclaiming their parties waving tall matching flags all day near busy intersections. Nearby stand their tents with info. Off hand, I can remember Наша Ukraine (weird to see Ukraine in Russian with this party, so I will just type it in English), Party of Regions, Yulia's bloc, the Communist party, some new student/civil society party (пора), the Socialist party, the "Not Yes" party (Не Так), the Pensioners party, and the Green Party (which supposedly is not related to the American Green Party), the Homeland party, and many others that I have no idea what they are. The idea and concept of choice astounds me.
This past weekend there was a huge Green Party concert that we only walked by to avoid any political association as per our PC rules and regulations. There were more people in N-- than I had ever seen at this thing, all coming for a popular Ukrainian entertainer. A humorist/singer/entertainer who dresses up like a woman. In America we would call this political suicide: can you imagine a dude in drag supporting either the Democrats or Republicans publically? However, in Ukraine it's obviously the way to pack a town.
The next day I spotted about 20 cars, in what could be compared to a funeral procession, rolling down Prospect Lenina with big Party of Regions flags. The day after it was the same thing down by my house but only with more flags and more cars for Yulia's bloc. The day after that I finished up work and came down to Sovietskaya and saw what looked like a mini Orange Revolution with Nasha Ukraina's (Yushchenko's bloc) orange tents lined up all up and down the busy pedistrian street.
These are all some pretty interesting campaign techniques, ones I have not and probably will not see in America, where we prefer a less wide-canvassing and stick to demographics.
This past weekend there was a huge Green Party concert that we only walked by to avoid any political association as per our PC rules and regulations. There were more people in N-- than I had ever seen at this thing, all coming for a popular Ukrainian entertainer. A humorist/singer/entertainer who dresses up like a woman. In America we would call this political suicide: can you imagine a dude in drag supporting either the Democrats or Republicans publically? However, in Ukraine it's obviously the way to pack a town.
The next day I spotted about 20 cars, in what could be compared to a funeral procession, rolling down Prospect Lenina with big Party of Regions flags. The day after it was the same thing down by my house but only with more flags and more cars for Yulia's bloc. The day after that I finished up work and came down to Sovietskaya and saw what looked like a mini Orange Revolution with Nasha Ukraina's (Yushchenko's bloc) orange tents lined up all up and down the busy pedistrian street.
These are all some pretty interesting campaign techniques, ones I have not and probably will not see in America, where we prefer a less wide-canvassing and stick to demographics.
posted by Molly | 1:22 AM
1 Comments:
So who will win? The incumbent?
Over here in North Queensland, they have a "Fishing Party", which is a way for people who like fishing to register the general discontent with John Howard and the Liberals (in government for ten years this year) and with the sorry state of the main opposition, Kim Beazleys Labour party. They both act and talk like the usual slimy politic types. Hooray for democracy!
-e
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