Taras Illyushin, the country’s most popular politician and the mayor of its most populous city, has reportedly told an inner circle of his closest advisors that he is ‘almost certain’ to seek the presidency.
Arriving at his office on Friday morning the mayor refused to be drawn on the issue and when questioned by journalists he did not answer – despite earlier reports from members of his team suggesting that he intends to enter the race to become the Union Party nominee for November’s election as early as this week. His entry into the contest would be a significant turning point in the run up to the election – given it has long been expected that Federal Council leader Ivan Tattar would serve as the party’s nominee. With both major parties now seemingly falling out of love with their own frontrunners, the road to the Niveri Palace seems to be growing more complicated by the day.
Mayor of the City of Arvi since 2007, Illyushin hails from the communitarian left of the Union Party and was a close ally and protege of the late former Prime Minister Maksim Obelschenko alongside former party leader Lazar Ulanov. Having previously rallied against the merger with the Unitarians that brought the party into existence in the same year he took up office, the mayor has in recent weeks said he wants the Union Party to ‘stick together’ and has spoken out against the idea of a split. However, his entry into the presidential contest could in itself become a key catalyst in creating such a situation – with key figures from across the party threatening to break away if Illyushin was to capture the party’s candidature, with the most prominent calls having come from Béspura deputy Ivan Jezek and Bykiven’s representative Vlad Marat.
Mr Jezek and Mr Marat have been seeking to end the alliance between Unionists and Unitarians – and are thought to be deciding between themselves which will enter the presidential contest on this ticket. Their reasoning is thought to be based on the suggestion that the Union Party brand has been weakened in certain parts of the country – particularly after a disastrous legislative campaign ran by Adnan Anadinivich against the Centrists led by Asta Dahn last year. Stepping down as leader of the party days after losing the election, Mr Anadinivich created a vacuum at the top of the party – with the president term limited and a lack of unity over the future direction of the entity. Now, with Mr Illyushin expected to step forward, many sense an opportunity to pitch the party to the left, bringing ‘youth’ and ‘vigour’ into its campaign in November.
Illyushin, as mayor, has led the party to three election victories in Arvi and is seen as a strong media performer – but it is not yet known how he would seek to enter the race and whether his campaign would follow a similar roadmap to those he has ran at a local level. However, with a launch potentially imminent, Mr Illyushin is thought to be assembling a team to support the development of his campaign for the presidency, a race he is now expected to enter in the coming weeks and will do so as the favourite.
