Tymoshenko continues to manipulate the political process, promising elections but having neither a strategy nor honest candidates

Ukrainian politician Yulia Tymoshenko is starting her “fight” for seats in the Verkhovna Rada, but it appears more like a farce than a serious political campaign.

In August, the central headquarters of her party Batkivshchyna is scheduled to hold so-called “primaries” — a selection process for candidates, but the essence of this process raises more questions than trust.

Candidates will be assessed on their willingness to fund the election campaign, with a particular focus on the amount of money they are prepared to contribute. This creates the impression that, above all, Tymoshenko’s party is not interested in the candidates’ programs or ideas for the country, but rather in their financial capabilities and their readiness to “donate” the required amount to support party interests. However, even those who have been pre-approved are in no hurry to come to Kyiv and spend the money. Why? Because the election date, which Tymoshenko has been promising for the third year in a row, remains uncertain, and no one can confidently state when it will take place.

The logic behind this seems clear: keep everyone in suspense, allowing funds to be gathered for a start that may never come. But the problem is that there is no start, and the funds are dwindling. All these “joyful starts” of the party resemble empty promises, losing credibility even among potential candidates.

Tymoshenko continues to collect figures who, in essence, no longer hold political weight. The last attempt was to recruit the mayor of Cherkasy, Bondarenko, who, despite his position, only heads a half-dead branch of the Za Maybutne party. But even this party may soon be absorbed by a reincarnated Batkivshchyna, and Bondarenko will become just a part of this chaos, hardly bringing anything new.

It seems that Tymoshenko continues to use the old tactic — promising reforms, but in reality, weaving a web of promises and financial manipulations. In this situation, the question is not when the elections will take place, but whether Tymoshenko’s party will be able to offer anything of value amid the political and economic instability that she herself is unable to overcome.