the rag burns between Volodymyr Zelensky and Mayor Vitali Klitschko, in a political battle for kyiv

The enmity between the president and the mayor of kyiv was no big secret. It is now coming to light. Vitali Klitschko denounced a “unleashed campaign” conducted against him, in a solemn speech, Wednesday, June 21. “Someone seems to be eager to regain control of the capital”he was indignant, considering that the “People of Kyiv [était devenue l’]hostage to a political struggle”. The former boxer does not mention the name of Volodymyr Zelensky, nor that of his party “Servant of the people”. But in Ukraine, everyone has understood, as the quarrels between the two men are old.

High point of this confrontation, the recent affair of the air-raid shelters. On the night of June 1, three people, including a minor, died in a Russian strike after finding the door closed at the entrance to an underground shelter. A controversy broke out, echoing the emotion of the country. “This tragic episode offended the sensibilities of society, and immediately took on the appearance of a scandal.comments to franceinfo Tetyana Ogarkova, journalist and head of the international branch of the Ukraine Crisis Media Center. “Volodymyr Zelensky and Vitali Klitschko blamed each other for political reasons.”

The two chosen ones go blow for blow

National emotion did not prevent the head of state from sharply criticizing the mayor of kyiv. “We don’t just have enemies in Russia, we also have them inside. And there could be a knockout”, commented the president. An unequivocal allusion to the former boxer, held responsible for the tragedy. The city councilor, for his part, recalled that the heads of the district, precisely responsible for opening and maintaining the shelters, were appointed by the president.

In November, already, a controversy had poisoned the execrable relations between the two men. “I expect quality work from Kyiv City Hall”had castigated a president very annoyed by the dysfunctions of the “points of invincibility”, these havens allowing the inhabitants to supply themselves with water and electricity. “In the current situation, I do not want to get into political battles”, had eluded the former boxer. It’s not “no time for political games”he reiterated to the German weekly Der Spiegelin December.

Vitali Klitschko finally came out of his reserve on Wednesday in his resounding statement. Justice had just placed the head of municipal security under house arrest in connection with the case of the air raid shelters. The blow too much for the mayor, who got angry with “endless searches that paralyze the work of the city services”. “In times of war, they sow chaos in the management of the capital”he was still annoyed.

An old dispute over local government

But this feud between the mayor and the president long predates the war. In 2010, the former boxer took the helm of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (Udar), a centre-right pro-European formation, before being elected in 2014 on a list of the Petro Poroshenko bloc, then president. Thereafter, he gradually tries to restart his Udar party, put on hold during the coalition games.

After the election of Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019, the president’s team had already tried, in vain, to impose a representative from its ranks at the head of the Kyiv City State Administration (KMDA). , alongside the mayor. But the capital has the particularity of entrusting these two functions to the same person – an exception in Ukraine. Vitali Klitschko then managed to keep the two hats, after fighting and obtaining the support of part of the population.

New episode in 2021, when the president’s team withdrew from the mayor the possibility of appointing the heads of the ten district administrations (RDA). Vitali Klitschko, this time, bowed. It is now the president who is responsible for appointments, on the proposal of the Council of Ministers.

Finally, at the start of the war, regional military administrations were joined to civil administrations, absorbing their prerogatives in passing. In kyiv, this so-called “KMVA” was entrusted to officer Serhiy Popko, and the quarrels were muted. The capital, then, was struggling for its survival, plagued by the Russian advance. After the withdrawal of the invading forces, defeated, the municipality demanded an end to the military administration. It is from there that “the president’s office has stopped speaking with Vitali Klitschko”confides to franceinfo Dmytro Bilotserkovets, head of the Udar group on the city council. “You’ll even be hard pressed to find a photo in which they both appear.”

“They haven’t exchanged a single word since April 2022.”

Dmytro Bilotserkovets, leader of the Udar group in the Kyiv city council

at franceinfo

“There is no question of personal sympathy or antipathy between President Zelensky and the mayor”, evacuated Lilia Pashinna, elected from the group “Servant of the people”, a minority on the municipal council. But “we are witnessing a complete mess in the management of the city”she told franceinfo, referring to the issue of shelter, flooding after bad weather or “overcharges” in road works. “When a person is not doing their job, they have to make way for more professional candidates.”

Since the air-raid shelter scandal, Zelensky’s entourage has in any case considered withdrawing the KMDA from Vitali Klitschko. The civil administration, of course, no longer has any power at the present time. But the presidential teams “wish to have control of it at the end of the war, when the legislative and presidential elections will be organised”, accuses Dmytro Bilotservokets. The latter also denounces the repetition of searches in municipal services – “more than five this week” – which he attributes to political decisions. “It is now very complicated to manage the city.”

Centralization of power during the war

Vitali Klitschko’s trust rating fell from 58% in March to 48% in May, according to the Razoumkov Center. Far from that of Volodymyr Zelensky (85% and 83.5%). Several names are circulating today to take the helm of the KDMA, including that of the popular Vitali Kim, regional governor of Mykolaiv. “Who controls Kiev, controls Ukraine, it is sometimes said. All this may mark the start of the election campaign in 2024. But this political rivalry could present certain risks for the capital”analyzes Tetyana Ogarkova.

Ousting Vitali Klitschko would be a misstep, analyze several Ukrainian experts. “Politically and legally, this would have serious consequences for the authoritiescomments political scientist Oleh Saakian, in the daily Ekspres. History shows that kyiv does not tolerate imposed appointments. Not to mention Vitali Klitschko’s weight internationally.” These quarrels, in any case, cause some concern in the country. “This conflict does a disservice to the state.”declares to franceinfo Oleksiï Goncharenko, deputy of the party “European Solidarity”.

“We should devote all our strength to defeating Russia, not to political infighting.”

Oleksiï Goncharenko, deputy “European Solidarity”

at franceinfo

Vitali Klitschko, president of the association of mayors of Ukraine, has already defended local elected officials caught in the legal turmoil on several occasions. “An alarming trendhe had worried, at the beginning of May, after the legal disputes of the mayor of Odessa. He is the third mayor dismissed by the courts and it looks like an attempt to harass local authorities.” Before him, the mayor of Poltava had been sentenced for embezzlement, and that of Chernihiv dismissed from office for having used his company car for personal purposes.

After the great decentralization movement initiated in 2015, the trend has now been reversed, underlines the Carnegie Foundation, as part of an anti-corruption policy led by Volodymyr Zelensky. But “by getting rid of perhaps flawed, but elected executives, the government is setting a dangerous precedent, reinforcing authoritarian tendencies within an already stalled political system”, underlines the researcher Konstantin Skorkin. This conflict between the central power and the local authorities could resurface with renewed vigor after the war.