In his inaugural speech on Feb. 25, President Victor Yanukovych gave Ukrainians plenty of ways to hold him accountable during his five-year term.
Effective state governance was named as a first priority and, as the new president said, this largely lies in building up a stable parliamentary majority and an effective Cabinet willing to tackle the numerous challenges facing the nation, including creating a new judiciary, forming effective law enforcement, cutting the bureaucracy, battling corruption and modernizing the economy. These promises sound dodgy from a man who did his best to sabotage Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s government over the years. But we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt at the start of his term.
He should lead by example and make peace with his enemies, including Tymoshenko, as a way to start to changing the ugly political culture.
Moving Ukraine to a modern, competitive economy and away from the crony capitalism that made Yanukovych’s inner circle of supporters rich is honorable. But it’s hard to imagine this ex-convict imposing justice, let alone preventing his rich patrons from grabbing more power and wealth while he is in power.
If he’s not up to solving the numerous unsolved crimes of the past, he should at least create a level playing field for all.
Many Ukrainians were relieved to hear Yanukovych’s promise to cut down on state interference in the private economy. But changing anything substantially would mean no more insider deals and attacks on monopolies that his supporters enjoy.
As far as foreign relations are concerned, Yanukovych promised that Ukraine would be a bridge between East and West, an integral part of Europe and the former Soviet Union at the same time. This sounds like a re-load of ex-President Leonid Kuchma’s unsatisfying policies from 1994-2005, but hopefully it will work to the nation’s benefit.
Ukraine should continue to seek European Union membership and keep Russia at bay by improving its qualifications for potential membership in the NATO military alliance should the need arise.
In the end, less populist rhetoric that serves as a smokescreen to protect the entrenched interests would be appreciated. Yanukovych said he knows what to do – let’s hope by that he means he knows how to govern responsibly.
