Opposition government will not follow the principle "worse is better"

Contender for the post of minister of fuel and energy in the opposition government Oleksandr Hudyma has said that the opposition government will not work according to the principle "worse is better."

"This opposition will differ somewhat from Yanukovych’s opposition, because they did all they could for everything to be worse. Let’s take for example their draft law to raise social standards. In Ukraine and abroad, it was seen as a diversion against Ukraine. We won’t be doing this - we will be proposing ways to improve the situation. For example, if next week they propose that Russia lowers the price for gas and give the gas transport system to Russia in exchange, then we’ll propose our version of how to not raise prices and not give the GTS to Russia. There shouldn’t just be criticism of the government’s every step, but constructive proposals of how to overcome certain consequences," Oleksandr Hudyma said in an interview with UNIAN.

The parliamentarian is against raising prices for gas. "They don’t have a budget yet, and Tihipko is already fulfilling his campaign promise that the price for gas needs to be increased for households and the communal sector. Without a budget, I consider Tihipko’s statements unsubstantiated and shouldn’t be implemented for a simple reason - given the financial crisis and massive unemployment, increasing gas prices for households and the communal sector won’t do any good. It will only lead to huge debt," he explained.

Oleksandr Hudyma believes the official government is so far behaving emotionally. "Let’s say Boyko (minister of fuel and energy) is instructed by Yanukovych to go to Moscow and insist on a review of the contracts and price cuts, but these are market-based contracts and can’t be reviewed. They can be annulled and switch to manual mode, where everything will depend on Putin or Medvedev’s mood that day. A lower price for gas will indicate a betrayal of national interests. They want to pay for cheaper gas for their oligarchs with Ukraine’s national treasure. We will react to every action and move they make," stressed the deputy.

"Being a shadow minister is nothing new for me. When Yanukovych became prime minister in 2002, I was in Our Ukraine and was already an opposition minister, although nobody appointed me as such. I worked for nearly three years and earned high marks from former Prime Minister Yanukovych. He said that because of people "like Hudyma, nothing works out for us." That’s how this opposition will be," Oleksandr Hudyma concluded.