Having flown in to Kyiv on July 19 from my native Britain for a one-month internship, one of the first things I heard was that the president was on vacation for up to 45 days. I was somewhat mystified at how, only five months into his presidential term, Yanukovych could allow himself such a lengthy break as his country and citizens struggle to stay afloat financially.
Of course, no one is disputing that everyone, presidents included, needs a break once in a while. But I asked myself: is it really appropriate for the leader of a country to pack up and leave in the midst of tough talks with the International Monetary Fund that are aimed at securing much needed grants, and with other key reforms such as an overhaul of a bankrupt pension system still unfulfilled?
Likewise, shouldn’t Yanukovych be forced to publicly justify going against his pre-election promises, such as hiking gas prices, instead of hitting, running and hiding out on the sunny, picturesque beaches of Crimea?
Perhaps my judgment is a little harsh and based on the somewhat frugal holidaymaking of (also recently elected) British Prime Minister David Cameron, who will be taking a short trip to the south of England with his pregnant wife before returning to tackle pressing budget cuts and wrestle with staggering unemployment levels – pressing demands that will not wait. It is true that some European leaders do, indeed, take appreciable summer holidays, but seldom for one-and-a-half months.
If Yanukovych is serious about bringing Ukraine closer to Europe, he may well have to reconsider his bathing breaks. While Cameron subscribes to Sam Ewing’s philosophy – “Vacation: Two weeks on the sunny sands – and the rest of the year on the financial rocks,” Yanukovych seems happy to bask, without troubling himself too much that it is not only he who may get burned, but his country too.
However, we should not be too hasty in writing off the president’s leave as negligence towards his country but instead look at it as a very clear way of assessing his government’s priorities. Holidays, or rather, matters for which leaders allow their holidays to be interrupted, quite often give helpful indicators as to when issues are considered truly urgent.
We remember Yulia Tymoshenko as premier being called back from her holiday in 2008 as a matter of urgency in order to discuss critical repairs to infrastructure in the wake of a recent flood. So far, only the Patriarch of Moscow’s visit will tempt Yanukovych away from his Crimean sanctuary; even Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is expected to have to fly to the Crimea in order to gain a reception.
Perhaps from the political strategy point of view, it makes sense to disappear from the public eye while unpopular reforms are adopted to secure fresh IMF aid, such as the recent utility prices hikes. And I’m told that with many of the political talk shows on television also taking off for the summer, fewer citizens will notice this obvious political copout, a cunning strategy designed to avoid being associated with painful reforms.
But since the Kyiv Post is working this summer, I’ve noticed and hope more citizens that are eager to live in a better country catch on soon too.
A British citizen, Lucy Chambers is a recent graduate of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, having completed a bachelor’s degree in modern languages. She is currently in Kyiv for a one-month internship at the Kyiv Post and can be reached at [email protected]
