In the run-up to the 2010 presidential election, Sergiy Tigipko presented himself as a modern reformer, a tough decision-maker and a member of a young generation of politicians untainted by past corruption and scandals.
He was rewarded with third place in the first round of voting, scoring 13 percent.
This newspaper also supported him as the best candidate.
Since that time, however, he has let down his supporters.
First, after Viktor Yanukovych became president, Tigipko took the post of deputy prime minister in the new government, taking responsibility for a number of reforms – including tax and pension legislation – that were heavily criticized and hurt his support, which polls now place at around 5 percent.
He may have blindly walked into a trap where he was set up as the fall guy; he may have had less control over the drafting process than he wanted; or he may simply have penned reforms that favored entrenched power holders over average citizens.
This oligarch-backed grouping is widely seen as being the main block on liberal, European-style governance in the country.
Now, he is set to merge his Strong Ukraine party with the pro-presidential Party of Regions.
In doing so, he is openly throwing in his lot with the party and president who have trampled over Ukraine’s constitution to monopolize power, muzzle media and backslide on democracy.
This oligarch-backed grouping is widely seen as being the main block on liberal, European-style governance in the country.
Perhaps, as some analysts suggest, Tigipko fancies a shot at replacing Prime Minister Mykola Azarov if he is made the scapegoat.
Perhaps he’s being pushed forward as Yanukovych-lite for the 2015 presidential election, if the top man’s popularity continues to fall.
Or perhaps the Party of Regions made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Whatever the reason, he is deserting, for personal gain, the very platform he stood on in 2010.
This is not the first time a seemingly promising politician let down his or her electorate by proving hungrier for the comfortable seats of power than the hard course of fighting for what’s right. It will certainly not be the last time.
