Yushchenko’s last-ditch attempts to sabotage the presidential bid of erstwhile Orange Revolution ally Yulia Tymoshenko are shameful. It was equally painful to see the man who once symbolized the high hopes of Orange Revolution protesters take hypocrisy to a new high with a last-minute asset grab. This week, he expressed his desire to be rewarded upon retirement by taking ownership over the multi-million-dollar presidential estate that he has resided in for five years.
Asked during his farewell press conference whether he would like to be awarded ownership over the presidential estate located in the posh Koncha-Zaspa suburb of Kyiv, Yushchenko said: “It all depends on the new president. If they say that by law there is such a right, then I’ll accept it.”
In fact, a law giving such a perk at taxpayers’ expense to outgoing presidents and other top state officials does not exist … at least not in the public eye. Nor do such privileges exist in the healthy democracies of Europe and the Americas. But in Ukraine, such practices have become a tradition, yet another way for top politicians and their close friends to rob the country and its people of their riches – even as they are voted out of office.
Why does Yushchenko, who miserably failed his nation, deserve such a reward? Perhaps he should be investigated instead. Such injustices are particularly hard to stomach as the majority of citizens struggle daily to survive. Yushchenko is not exactly impoverished. His family owns a vast estate in Bezradychi in Kyiv Oblast, a 400-meter apartment overlooking Mykhailivsky Cathedral in the heart of the capital and a cabin estate in the Carpathian Mountains.
Looking back, it’s not surprising that Yushchenko has stooped so low. Rather than stop cronies from privatizing state properties, he seems to have helped them. Evidence suggests Yushchenko helped President-elect Victor Yanukovych grab a 120-hectare estate outside of Kyiv, and state dacha takeovers by ex-president Leonid Kuchma and speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn.
Yushchenko had pledged to combat such deals. But now it’s evident he has been taking part all along. This incident symbolizes the greed ingrained in Ukraine’s business and political elite. Most of them are still not interested in serving the national interest. They are interested only in what they can take from this nation.
