Siarhei Balykin: Political party is not merely a bunch of leaders

To overcome systemic crisis the United Civil Party (UCP) should activate the initiative from below and bridge the gap between the party ruling top and rank-and-file party members.

This opinion was shared to the EuroBelarus Information Service by the head of the Association of Small and Medium Business, the lawyer and economist Siarhei Balykin, recently chosen an acting Chairman of Minsk regional organization of the United Civil Party.

“I have a rational access of my possibilities”, - he said, noting that his post only provides him with limited options to influence party actions.

“But I want to hope that the situation in the UCP will improve. I was glad to hear that rank-and-file party members showed their initiative. They were indignant with the lack of work on party building, leaders’ failure to appear at the regional conference and also with the fact that on the whole, party ruling top doesn’t need them”, - told Siarhei Balykin.

“It is good that people are not afraid to share their opinion, their indignation – it is absolutely normal, both for any organization as well as the state on the whole”, - the interlocutor gave his evaluation.

Together with it, Siarhei Balykin found it difficult to say whether the actions of the Minsk regional UCP organization members will influence the situation in the party on the whole: “Perhaps this agitation would slow down quickly, as in happens often in Belarus. But it is also possible that this is a beginning of some new positive change”.

The interlocutor described the situation that emerged in the UCP as a “systematic and management crisis”. “Unfortunately, because of the objective and subjective reasons and due to the common situation in the country, through the fault of concrete people we found ourselves in the situation when we are cut off from our own people, when there is a gap between the party ruling top and rank-and-file party members, and, what is most, when we lost our guidelines, - explained Siarhei Balykin. – I believe that for today party doesn’t have any clear goals, and, accordingly, doesn’t have any means and methods to achieve them”.

He believes that in order to overcome the crisis the party has to make “some changes in personnel”. “And secondly, the initiative should come from below. As the party is not only a bunch of leaders; it is rank-and-file party members that make the party”, - highlighted the interlocutor. And it is basing on the opinion of the majority of the rank-and-file party members that some compromise should be found so that to overcome the situation, believes the acting chairman of the Minsk regional organization of the UCP.

Responding to the request to compare political activity with that in the business association, Siarhei Balykin noted that the work in the entrepreneurial structures is much easier and more clear: “Business organizations have concrete people, concrete goals and concrete results. Business interests are very simple – to earn money. What helps to earn money is supported, and what prevents from earning it is thrown away”.

Still, the official goals that the commercial organizations declare do not contradict their internal aims, said the Chairman of Minsk regional organization of the United Civil Party.

“People say: “Yes, we want to earn money, we will fight for our interests in this business”. And there is nothing bad in it. It is much worse when people want to earn money, but declare absolutely different aims. And it is because of these contradictions that the problems appear”, - assumes Siarhei Balykin.