Aside from the revolutionary rhetoric that has tired even the most politics-crazed observers in Ukraine, the latest address to the nation by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, on Feb. 22, carried a lot of common sense, and a reasonable assessment of the current situation in the country.
Tymoshenko hit the bull’s-eye in her appraisal of what is wrong with the nation’s economy. “The oligarchy … need cheap labor, poor and disenfranchised people who can be forced to work at their factories for peanuts. And they also need Ukraine’s riches, which they have been ruthlessly stealing for the past 18 years. They’re not interested in your fate or the future of your children. They haven’t lived in Ukraine for a long time, they just exploit it.”
She then connected the sins of the oligarchs to the widespread lack of acceptance of their protege, President Victor Yanukovych. The new president’s proposed policies (Russian as a second state language, extended lease for the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, a gas consortium with Russia and putting loyal business backers in top positions where they can profit against the national interests) are repulsive. As Tymoshenko points out, Yanukovych’s first moves show that he has a long way to go before he proves he will govern in the national interest.
Yanukovych’s Party of the Regions has attempted to destabilize the country by approving laws and spending that the nation can ill afford. His commitment to democracy is suspect, including his party’s last-minute changes to the election law this time around and his backers’ 2004 attempt to steal the election for him.
After this election was challenged, the Higher Administrative Court, which is believed to be allied with the Party of Regions, refused to hear witnesses called by the Tymoshenko camp in an attempt to prove that she was defrauded of victory in the Feb. 7 vote. Before that, the live broadcast of its hearing was banned to the detriment of those interested in a fair, transparent proceeding.
If Yanukovych manages to form a ruling coalition in the 450-seat parliament, he will be close to taking all power in the nation – something that is dangerous.
Preserving the current coalition in parliament – effectively led by Tymoshenko – would serve as a nice counter-balance and an important democratic control. The trick for both Tymoshenko and Yanukovych would be to start working in the national interest for changes.
That may mean Tymoshenko stepping down and Yanukovych compromising on his choice of prime minister candidates, beyond the three he’s floated – the candidacies of Mykola Azarov, Sergiy Tigipko and Arseniy Yatseniuk.
A healthy balance of power is good for all.
