Better parliament than the street

Ukraine and Ukrainians have a history of parliamentarism that goes back more than a millennium: the tradition of viche or town meetings that started in early Kyivan Rus, the kozak councils, the substantial representation of Ukrainians, first in the Sejm of the Rzeczpospolita Polska or Polish Republic and then in the Austro-Hungarian legislature, and later the Central Council or Rada during the national liberation movement period at the time of WWI and later the Ukrainian Main Liberation Council during WWII.

Parliamentarism has been key in the conflict between society and monarchs as a stabilizing factor for cooperating and as a counterbalance that prevents the concentration of power in one pair of hands. A parliament is that place where compromise and consensus are constantly being sought. On one hand, it cannot be the epitome of a heavy hand or dictator, and on the other, the source of anarchy and arbitrariness. It must properly reflect the interests of an entire society.