Honcharenko was expelled from the European Solidarity faction: politicians reacted to the decision

MP Oleksiy Honcharenko was expelled from the parliamentary faction “European Solidarity”. The reason was the differences between his public position on the possible end of the war and the position of the political force.

The faction announced the decision on October 5. “European Solidarity” stated that Honcharenko’s positions on the end of the war and the future security architecture of Ukraine diverged from the ideological principles of the political force.

How politicians reacted

MP Volodymyr Ar’yev stated that the decision was preceded by internal discussions. According to him, the party should have weighed the situation before reacting publicly.

Volodymyr Vyatrovych, commenting on the situation, warned against promoting ideas in Ukrainian society that may be presented as a desire for peace, but in fact, in his opinion, contribute to capitulationist sentiments and social division.

Former director of the State Rear Operator Arsen Zhumadilov expressed a much harsher assessment. He suggested that Honcharenko’s position is increasingly becoming consonant with the Russian one.

At the same time, former MP and veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war Viktor Ukolov noted that the positions of Honcharenko and European Solidarity have significantly diverged, but expressed regret over his expulsion from the faction.

Honcharenko is predicted to create his own party

Businessman and blogger Karl Volokh suggested that expulsion from the faction could play to Honcharenko’s advantage politically. In his opinion, the deputy can form an electorate around him of supporters of negotiations to end the war.

Volokh also did not rule out the creation of Honcharenko’s own political party, which in the future may appear in sociological ratings.

What Honcharenko said

On October 2, Oleksiy Honcharenko published a series of posts calling for the start of the negotiation process with the Russian Federation. In particular, he proposed first to negotiate a cessation of attacks on ports, enterprises, schools, hospitals, residential buildings and bridges, and then move on to more complex issues, including Donbas and the neutral status of Ukraine.

Honcharenko himself, after being notified of his expulsion from the faction, did not comment on this decision separately at the time of publication of the material. The day before, he published a list of 50 points of his activities since 2014, with which he responded to accusations of a pro-Russian position. Among other things, the deputy mentioned opposition to the occupation of Crimea, Russian sanctions against it, assistance to the Defense Forces, activity in PACE and legislative initiatives in support of the military.

At the same time, Honcharenko is not a member of the European Solidarity party. Until now, he was a member of the parliamentary faction of the same name. The People’s Deputy is also a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Budget and the Permanent Delegation of Ukraine to PACE.